Comparison of in vitro regeneration efficiency of leaf explants in response to different cytokinins and assessment of genetic uniformity of regenerated plants of Solanum surattense Burm.f.

An efficient, genetically stable and rapid regeneration system via multiple shoot formation was developed for an endangered medicinal herb Solanum surattense. Leaves were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentration of cytokinins; 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (Kn), thiadiazuron (TDZ), zeatin and inorganic phosphate (iP) alone or in combinations. Among five cytokinins used, TDZ (0.1 mg/l) gave the maximum regeneration response (35 shoot buds per explant), with 100% regeneration efficiency. Comparative regeneration efficiency of cytokinins was in the following order: TDZ > zeatin > iP > BAP > Kn and the comparative ratio was 6:4:3:2:1. Highestfrequency of adventitious shoot bud induction (54 shoot buds per explant) was achieved on combination of TDZ (0.1 mg/l) and BAP (1 mg/l). Combinations of cytokinins were more effective for shoot bud regeneration as compared to cytokinin alone. Best root formation was observed on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1 mg/l indole-3-acetic acid (IBA). The rooted plantlets were hardened gradually and resulted in a production of more than 80% plantlets. Theefficiency of auxins for root organogenesis was in the following order: IBA > IAA > NAA > PAA. Genetic stability of regenerated plants was analyzed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers.Keywords: Solanum surattense, adventitious shoot buds, genetic fidelity, random amplified polymorphic DNA, thiadiazuro

Oxidant and solvent stable alkaline protease from Aspergillus flavus and its characterization

The increase in agricultural practices has necessitated the judicious use of agricultural wastes into value added products. In this study, an  extracellular, organic solvent and oxidant stable, serine protease wasproduced by Aspergillus flavus MTCC 9952 under solid state fermentation. Maximum protease yield was obtained when the strain was grown under wheat bran and corn cob mixture (1:1) incubated for 48 h at pH 9.0 and temperature 37°C with 50% of initial moisture content. The partially purified enzyme showed wide range of pH optima (8.0-12.0) and pH stability (7.0-12.0), whereas, optimum temperature was 40°C and was stable over a wide range of temperature 30-45°C. The protease was extremely stable towards several organic solvents. The enzyme retained 80% of its original activity in the presence of non ionic and ionic surfactants and 100% with 10% H2O2 after 1 h of incubation at 30°C. In addition, the enzyme showed excellent compatibility with some commercial powder detergents. The compatibility of our protease with several detergents, oxidants and organic solvents suggests its possible use in detergent industry and peptide synthesis.Key words: Alkaline protease, solid state fermentation, PMSF, organic solvent

Biosocial and disease conditions are associated with good quality of life among older adults in rural eastern Nepal: Findings from a cross-sectional study

Background The ageing population in most low-and middle-income countries is accompanied by an increased risk of non-communicable diseases culminating in a poor quality of life (QOL). However, the factors accelerating this poor QOL have not been fully examined in Nepal. Therefore, this study examined the factors associated with the QOL of older adults residing in the rural setting of Nepal. Methods Data from a previous cross-sectional study conducted among older adults between January and April 2018 in in rural Nepal was used in this study. The analytical sample included 794 older adults aged ≥60 years, selected by a multi-stage cluster sampling approach. QOL was measured using the Older People’s Quality of Life tool; dichotomized as poor and good QOL. Other measures used included age, gender, ethnicity, religion, marital status, physical activity, and chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and depression. The factors associated with QOL were examined using mixed-effects logistic regression. Results Seven in ten respondents (70.4%) reported a poor QOL. At the bivariate level, increasing age, unemployment, intake of alcohol, lack of physical activity as well as osteoarthritis, COPD and depression were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of a good QOL. The adjusted model showed that older age (AOR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.28–0.90), the Christian religion (AOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.20–0.70), and of an Indigenous (AOR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.14–0.47), Dalit (AOR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.10–0.56), and Madheshi (AOR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.14–0.60) ethnic background were associated with lower odds of good QOL. However, higher income of >NRs 10,000 (AOR = 3.34, 95% CI: 1.43–3.99), daily physical activity (AOR: 3.33; 95% CI: 2.55–4.34), and the absence of osteoarthritis (AOR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.09–3.49) and depression (AOR: 3.34; 95% CI: 2.14–5.22) were associated with higher odds of good QOL. Conclusion The findings of this study reinforce the need of improving QOL of older adults through implementing programs aimed at addressing the identified biosocial and disease conditions that catalyse poor QOL in this older population residing in rural parts of Nepal

Local perceptions and adaptation of indigenous communities to climate change: Evidences from High Mountain Pangi valley of Indian Himalayas

58-67The present study was undertaken with aim to understand the perceptions of indigenous communities about climate change pattern and its local impacts on climate variables, seasons, agriculture, biodiversity and adaptive strategies in geographical and technological-isolated Pangi valley situated in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh. Randomly selected 120 respondents were interviewed and their perceptions were recorded on pre-designed questionnaire. The climate change impacts are experienced in the form of decreased snowfall (98.3%), temperature rise (97.5%), late onset of monsoon (90.8%), decreased rainfall (76.7%), reduced snow-melted water availability (86.7%) and increased drought incidences (85.8%) of over the years. Further, these climatic changes affecting agriculture through early shifts in crop season (80.8%), shorter growing season (91.7%), introduction of fruit and vegetable crops (90.8%), increased incidence of insect-pest (81.2%) and diseases (84.2%) and thereby decline in crop yield (70%). However, majority of the respondents undertaken adaptive strategies such as crop diversification, traditional mixed-cropping, mixed farming, crop rotation and agro-forestry/agro-horticulture systems to cope with climate change but they are either little or unaware of modern farming practices such as snow water/glacier runoff harvesting, agro advisory services, mulching and zero tillage as adaptation strategies

Fresnel zone plate telescopes for X-ray imaging II: numerical simulations with parallel and diverging beams

We present the results of simulations of shadows cast by a zone plate telescope which may have one to four pairs of zone plates. From the shadows we reconstruct the images under various circumstances. We discuss physical basis of the resolution of the telescope and demonstrate this by our simulations. We allow the source to be at a finite distance (diverging beam) as well as at an infinite distance (parallel beam) and show that the resolution is worsened when the source is nearby. By reconstructing the zone plates in a way that both the zone plates subtend the same solid angles at the source, we obtain back high resolution even for sources at a finite distance. We present simulated results for the observation of the galactic center and show that the sources of varying intensities may be reconstructed with accuracy. Results of these simulations would be of immense use in interpreting the X-ray images from recently launched CORONAS-PHOTON satellite.Comment: 17 pages, 36 figures, Published in Experimental Astronom

Linkage analysis for drought tolerance in kharif rice of Assam using microsatellite markers

371-375Drought stress in rainfed ecosystem significantly limits the production of Ranjit, the most predominant high yielding rice variety of Assam. A mapping population comprising 85 F4 individuals between Ranjit and a drought tolerant cultivar, ARC10372 was developed and genotyped with 80 microsatellite markers in order to understand the genetic basis of drought tolerance. The linkage map constructed based on a framework linkage map using these markers showed that the marker loci were distributed across 12 chromosomes spanning a distance of 273.4 cM with an average interval of 3.41 cM between marker loci. Most of the marker loci were found to be in good fit with the expected Mendelian segregation ratio; however, thirteen marker loci in total showed segregation distortion on six chromosomes. The linkage map generated in the study will facilitate mapping of quantitative trait loci imparting drought tolerance in rice of Assam and their map-based cloning

High performance non-doped green organic light emitting diode via delayed fluorescence

P. G. thanks the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), India, for the Start-up Research Grant (SRG) (Grant No: SRG/2020/000161). E.Z-C. thanks the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) EP/P010482/1 for support. P. R. thanks the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for generous financial support and the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), India, for the SERB-Power Grant (SPG) (Grant No: SPG/2020/000107). B.S. thank IISc for the C. V. Raman Fellowship under the Institute of Eminence (IoE).Non-doped, delayed fluorescence organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) provide a route to high performance devices and simplified device fabrication. Here, two ambipolar anthracene derivatives containing a hole-transporting di-p-tolylamine and a carbazole and an electron-transporting phosphine oxide moiety are rationally designed and synthesized. The thermal and optoelectronic properties were investigated and the neat films of these compounds show high photoluminescence quantum yields of 84–87%. Non-doped OLEDs with these luminogens exhibit green emission at ∼545 nm and an EQEmax of over 7.2% due to the delayed fluorescence resulting from triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA). The devices show a high luminance of over 104 400 cd m−2. Power efficiency and current efficiency maxima are up to 23.0 lm W−1 and 28.3 cd A−1, respectively. Moreover, the devices show very low efficiency roll-off and retain 90% of the maximum efficiency even at 20 000 cd m−2. When combined with a thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) assistant dopant, the green-emitting OLEDs show a high EQEmax of 17.8%.PostprintPeer reviewe

Was there any change in tobacco smoking among adults in Bangladesh during 2009-2017? Insights from two nationally representative cross-sectional surveys.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the changes in prevalence and associated factors of tobacco smoking among Bangladeshi adults over time. DESIGN: Nationally representative cross-sectional surveys. SETTING: Two most recent Global Adults Tobacco Survey (GATS) data from Bangladesh, carried out in 2009 and 2017. PARTICIPANTS: Adult population aged 15 and above (n=9629 in 2009; n=12 783 in 2017). OUTCOME MEASURES: Current use of tobacco smoke, including cigarettes, bidi, hukkah, cigars or pipes, which was dichotomised ('yes'/'no'). METHODS: We analysed data from two recent rounds of GATS (2009 and 2017). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of tobacco smoking among Bangladeshi adults was noted (23.00%, 95% CI 22.98 to 23.00 in 2009; 16.44%, 95% CI 16.43 to 16.45 in 2017). Being male (adjusted OR (AOR)=59.72, CI 40.56 to 87.93 for 2009; AOR=71.17, CI 41.08 to 123.32 for 2017), age between 25 and 64 years (all AORs >2 and p<0.05), smoking permissible at home (AOR=7.08, CI 5.88 to 8.52 for 2009; AOR=5.90, CI 5.34 to 6.95 for 2017), and watching tobacco smoking product use in movie/drama scenes (AOR=1.26, CI 1.11 to 1.44 for 2009; AOR=1.34, CI 1.17 to 1.54 for 2017) were found to be significantly associated with increased tobacco smoking among adults both in 2009 and in 2017. However, being offered free tobacco sample products (AOR=0.66, CI 0.57 to 0.77 for 2009; AOR=0.87, CI 0.76 to 0.99 for 2017) and having primary, secondary or higher education (all AORs <1 and p<0.05) as well as being a student (AOR=0.16, CI 0.09 to 0.29 for 2009; AOR=0.32, CI 0.19 to 0.53) were associated with lower odds of tobacco smoking in both surveys. CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of tobacco smoking has declined over the period, it is still high among those who were relatively older, men, less educated and exposed to a movie/drama where tobacco smoking is promoted. Therefore, appropriate interventions are required to stop tobacco smoking among the Bangladeshi population

Perceived change in tobacco use and its associated factors among older adults residing in rohingya refugee camps during the covid-19 pandemic in bangladesh

This study explored the perceived change in tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors among older adults residing in Rohingya refugee camps, also referred to as Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals in Bangladesh. The study followed a cross-sectional design and was conducted in October 2020 among 416 older adults aged 60 years and above. A purposive sampling technique was applied to identify eligible participants, and face-to-face interviews were conducted using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire to collect the data. Participants were asked if they noted any change in their tobacco use patterns (smoking or smokeless tobacco) during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. Binary logistic regression models determined the factors associated with the perceived change in tobacco use. More than one in five participants (22.4%) were current tobacco users, of whom 40.8% reported a perceived increase in tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adjusted analysis revealed that participants who were concerned about COVID-19 had significantly (p < 0.05) lower odds of perceived increase in tobacco use (aOR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.06–0.73), while older adults who were overwhelmed by COVID-19 (aOR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.06–1.18) and communicated less frequently with others during the pandemic than before (aOR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.03–1.20) had marginally significantly (p < 0.1) lower odds of perceived increase in tobacco use during this pandemic. Relevant stakeholders, policymakers, and practitioners need to focus on strengthening awareness-raising initiatives as part of an emergency preparedness plan to control tobacco use during such a crisis period