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The isothermal oxidation behaviour of IN740H alloy was studied by conducting experiments in a thermogravimetric analyser in the presence of air and synthetic flue gas in the temperature range of 760–900 °C. SEM/XRD/EPMA/Raman spectroscopy was used for analysing surfaces/cross sections of oxidized/corroded specimens. The oxide layer consists of Ti-doped Cr2O3 and NiCr2O4 in air-oxidized specimens, whereas additional NiO and NiS form in the presence of flue gas at 900 °C. Alumina forms at the oxide/matrix interface and at 900 °C; it was followed by γ′ denuded zone with dispersed (Ti, Nb)C. The kinetics of oxidation in a steady state are found to be sub-parabolic for all the conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: DIC is a widely used optical method that uses cameras to track the motion of an applied random surface pattern to measure the full-field deformation. Due to its non-contacting nature, DIC is very preferable to be used in the areas of high temperature experimental mechanics. One of the biggest challenges of DIC at extreme temperatures is the blackbody radiation emitted from the glowing surface of the specimen. This glow from the blackbody radiation of the specimen is relatively higher at longer wavelengths and lower at shorter wavelengths. Objective: Previously, studies have shown the usefulness of using shorter wavelength of lights such as blue filtered light (450 nm) and UV-A filtered light (365 nm) for high temperature measurements. By contrast, this study uses UV-C filtered technique which utilizes even shorter wavelength of filtered light (UV-C, 254 nm) to demonstrate its effectiveness at elevated temperatures. Methods: Four different DIC techniques using an unfiltered blue light (200–1000 nm), a blue filtered light (450 nm), a UV-A filtered light (365 nm), and a UV-C (254 nm) filtered light have been performed at extreme temperatures in this study. Results: It was found that the techniques using unfiltered blue, blue filtered, and UV-A filtered lights could only go up to a temperature of 900 °C, 1200 °C, and 1600 °C respectively before showing significant saturations in the images. Conclusions: The new UV-C DIC showed no sign of saturation even up to a temperature of 1600 °C while providing comparable axial displacement and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) data and therefore demonstrating the usefulness of this method in higher temperatures. We also include helpful recommendations for how to produce speckle patterns having sufficient contrast at UV-C wavelengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study numerically evaluates the detonation inhibition effects of a range of halogenated compounds on hydrogen-air gaseous detonations. The halogenated compounds investigated in this research encompass halogen acids (HI, HBr, HCl, HF), halomethanes ( CH 3 I , CH 3 Br , CH 3 Cl , CH 3 F ), haloethenes ( C 2 H 3 I , C 2 H 3 Br , C 2 H 3 Cl , C 2 H 3 F ), haloethanes ( C 2 H 5 I , C 2 H 5 Br , C 2 H 5 Cl , C 2 H 5 F ), and complex halogenated compounds ( CF 3 I , CF 3 Br , CF 3 Cl , CF 4 ). The study employs a one-dimensional ZND model with detailed chemical kinetics to examine the impact on detonation propagation by adding these halogenated compounds to hydrogen-air mixtures. The effectiveness of these inhibitors is evaluated based on their capacity to increase the induction length, the amount of inhibitor needed to attenuate a detonation wave, and their influence on the detonability of the gaseous mixture under both lean and rich conditions. The results indicate that several halogenated compounds exhibit superior inhibition properties compared to Halon 1301 ( CF 3 Br ). Specifically, C 2 H 5 Br leads to the most significant increase in the induction length, with HBr and C 2 H 5 I following closely, particularly at 20,000 ppmv concentration levels. However, it is worth noting that the inhibition efficiency also varies depending on the concentration of the inhibitor added to the gaseous H 2 -air mixture. Moreover, based on retardant weight analysis, fluorinated compounds were found to be the most effective inhibitors, followed by chlorinated, brominated, and iodinated compounds across all categories of halogenated inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unwarranted leakage/release of hydrogen gas from metal processing, automotive, petrochemical industries, and nuclear reactors, along with its subsequent ignition and transition to detonation, could lead to catastrophic damage to both life and property. The development of practical hazard prevention and safety control systems demands an understanding of the effectiveness of the chemical inhibitors to suppress/mitigate a detonation wave under varying operational conditions. In the current study, the inhibition efficiency of chemical inhibitors under varying mixture initial conditions was investigated using numerical computations. The inhibition efficiency of trifluoroiodomethane (CF 3 I), carbon dioxide (CO 2) , and steam (H 2 O) on hydrogen-oxygen/air mixtures was evaluated using a detailed chemical kinetic model for hydrogen oxidation. ZND computations were carried out over a range of initial mixture composition, pressure, and temperature. It was found that CF 3 I is a better inhibitor than CO 2 and H 2 O at all the initial mixture conditions. However, at very high temperatures, the inhibitors CF 3 I, CO 2 , and H 2 O have a similar detonation inhibition efficiency. The inhibition efficiency of carbon dioxide and steam is comparable and significantly lower than CF 3 I. The findings from the current work can be used to design optimized detonation safety systems over a range of practical operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns in complex systems store hidden information of the system which is needed to be explored. We present a simple model of cytokine and T cell interaction and studied the model within stochastic framework by constructing master equation of the system and solving it. The solved probability distribution function of the model shows classical Poisson pattern in the large population limit N , Z → l a r g e indicating the system has the tendency to attract a large number of small-scale random processes of the cytokine population towards the basin of attraction of the system by segregating from non-random processes. Further, in the large ⟨ Z ⟩ limit, the pattern transforms to classical normal pattern, where uncorrelated small-scale fluctuations are wiped out to form a regular but memoryless spatiotemporal aggregated pattern. The estimated noise using Fano factor shows clearly that the cytokine dynamics is a Poisson process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a treatment of the non-Markovian character of memory by incorporating different forms of Mittag-Leffler (ML) function, which generally arises in the solution of a fractional master equation, as different memory functions in the Generalized Kolmogorov-Feller Equation (GKFE). The cross-over from the short time (stretched exponential) to long time (inverse power law) approximations of the ML function incorporated in the GKFE is proven. We have found that the GKFE solutions are the same for negative exponential and upto first order expansion of the stretched exponential function for very small τ → 0 . A generalized integro-differential equation form of the GKFE along with an asymptotic case is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The survival of endangered languages in complex language competition depends on the socio-cultural status and honour endowed (by itself and by the other) among them. The restriction in the endorsement of this honour leads to the extinction of one language and rise of the other. Endorsing proper mutual honour to each other triggers the co-existence of people speaking the two languages and this can save both languages from extinction. The loss of respect to each other leads to the death of both languages. We found a minimal or critical mutual honour u c which protects the two languages from extinction. The increase in mutual honour from this minimal value allows an increase in the populations of the people who speak the two languages. The state of co-existence of competing languages abolishes the concept of minority and majority in language competition, which can be obtained by mutual honour. Further, excess of biased honour to a particular language (minority or majority) forces the language to extinct. In mean-field approximation of language competition, magnetisation parameter can be taken as an indicator of the survival of a language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the dual behavior observed for hydrogen peroxide when added to hydrogen-air detonating mixtures. The effect of the addition of hydrogen peroxide on NO x emissions and critical detonation parameters was evaluated for H 2 air mixtures using one-dimensional ZND calculations. Hydrogen peroxide acts as an ignition promoter and is shown to significantly enhance the detonation chemistry when added in small concentrations. It alters the ignition chemistry of an underlying detonation wave without affecting the bulk thermodynamic properties. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the ignition promotion and NO x mitigation effects of hydrogen peroxide in gaseous detonations when it is added to hydrogen-air mixtures in small and large concentrations. In the current work, the diminishing sensitizing potential of hydrogen peroxide when added in large amounts (up to 10%) is also reported. The results show a visible effect on ignition promotion up to 20,000 ppm. At concentrations higher than 20,000 ppm of H 2 O 2 , further reduction in the induction length was found to be minimal. The NO x emissions were found to decrease for stoichiometric and fuel-lean H 2 -air mixtures, whereas the NO x concentration was found to increase for fuel-rich mixtures with the addition of hydrogen peroxide. Thus, the dual behavior exhibited by H 2 O 2 is shown to be advantageous as it could potentially mitigate NO x emissions at high temperatures for fuel-lean and stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixtures and, at the same time, could sensitize the given mixture for applications in detonation-based combustors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software development and maintenance accompany several challenges related to change management. Identifying dependencies of change-prone classes helps to manage the after-effects of changes smoothly. This paper aims to study the ripple effect identification in object-oriented software applications using software metrics and change history. The changeability pattern is generated and compared with actual changes to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for ripple effect identification. The impact set of existing classes is derived using the change history with a commit weight-based approach. Two coupling measures, Likelihood of Change (LiCh) and Co-change Probability (CChPr), are derived to analyse the change impact set of existing classes. The change impact of new classes is derived using a Bagging classification technique. The source code metrics are independent variables and co-change derived from change history is the dependent variable for the prediction model. The results indicate that most dependent classes are identified using the proposed technique and advocate using software metrics and change history for ripple effect identification. It can be beneficial for software practitioners to understand the impact of change and identify dependencies of an explicit class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical dry forests (TDF) support the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide, but in contrast with the humid tropical forests, knowledge of their structure and biology is limited. This study aims to fill that gap using observations from the South Indian Deccan Plateau. Based on large, tree-mapped field plots, within or near a densely populated metropolitan area, we present details of 130 woody plant species, including a large number of climbers. The modelling approach includes a new function for developing species–area relations (SAR's). In addition to the greater flexibility of the function, when compared with traditional power and asymptotic functions, the Monod function not only provides greater flexibility, but also allows reasonable estimates of SAR's if the overall regional species richness is known. This is an important advantage when compared to the standard methods. Another new finding concerns the species abundance distribution (SAD) which explains processes of community assembly and species turnover. The SAD follows the Weibull model which is a significant improvement compared with the traditional use of the Lognormal model because the Weibull parameters seem to be related to species richness. We also present a new cell-based (in addition to the individual neighbourhood-based) approach for analysing structure. The cell-based analysis combines small-grain measures of density and crowding, richness and size variation and can be used to assess the degree of similarity or dissimilarity among forest stands, or between a current and some ideal target structure. The methods of analysis and the proposed framework for pro-active conservation presented in this study may be helpful in regions of the world where complex multi-species forests require advanced methods for sustaining their resilience and functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research work, dissimilar metal joints of nickel-based superalloy (IN718) and low-alloy steel (EN24) round bars were carried out by using continuous drive friction welding. The joining of specimens was performed by varying friction time in the range of 2-10 s and keeping other welding parameters (friction pressure, 50 bar; upset pressure, 80 bar; upset time, 3 s; and rotational speed, 1400 rpm) constant. The main focus is to understand the characteristics of weld interface (WI), burn-off length and mechanical behavior of weld samples. It is noteworthy that significant changes in the microstructure caused variation in hardness across the weld interface. Moreover, it was observed that burn-off length increased linearly from 4.2 to 12.9% with increasing friction time. The tensile test results revealed that joint efficiency ~ 100% can be achievable by selecting the appropriate parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of five mononuclear ruthenium(III) complexes with Schiff's base ligand was performed using 2,6-bis(1H-benzo[d]imidazole-2-yl)pyridyldichlororuthenium(III) hydrate reacted with different substituted pyridyl chalcone. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, ESR, electronic absorption, and mass spectral studies. The geometry of metal complexes was optimized by Gaussian-09 using B3LYP as the basis set. The anti-mycobacterial activity of the ligands and complexes was evaluated. The anti-tumor activity of ligands and complexes was evaluated on human chronic myelogenous leukemia cancer cell line K562 by the MTT method. The DNA binding affinity was further endorsed for ct-DNA of complexes and the binding constant was determined. The docking of metal complexes was also carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rhino-orbital–cerebral mucor mycosis (ROCM) is a relatively rare opportunistic infection caused by the Mucorales species. While ROCM suggests involvement of the paranasal sinuses, orbit and brain ROM (rhino-orbital-Mucormycosis) stands for the fungal invasion in sinuses and orbit sans cerebral involvement. In India with the outbreak of the second COVID wave and the delta variant of the virus, there has been a steep increase in this opportunistic fulminant fungal infection, named COVID-associated Mucor mycosis (CAM). The most critical question in orbital management is when to go ahead with an exenteration. Our study aims to design a pertinent minimal invasive surgical protocol for surgeons to manage such cases based on our surgical experience and mitigate the need for exenteration and save the eyes wherever possible. Methods: The study is a retrospective analysis of patients of ROM with and without brain involvement, who underwent minimal surgical management between March 2021 to March 2022 along with their follow-up. Results: There were 184 eyes of 148 patients diagnosed with CAM. The mean age was 51.7 years with a male predominance of 103 (70%). All patients developed ROM following the COVID-19 infection and the duration between diagnosis of COVID-19 and ROM was 36 ± 23 days. 18 cases (12%) were bilateral. 76 eyes (41%) had no vision at the presentation. Imaging revealed paranasal sinus involvement (100%), orbital apex involvement (61%), cavernous sinus involvement (53%), and central nervous system (CNS) involvement (47%). All the patients (100%) were treated with systemic Liposomal amphotericin-B and sinus debridement. Endoscopic debridement of the orbital disease was performed in 45 (30.4%) cases, 15(8.1%) eyes underwent exenteration and were later rehabilitated with a customized ocular prosthesis, 103 (56%) eyes underwent transcutaneous retrobulbar amphotericin-B. At a mean follow-up of 13.1 months; the complete resolution was seen in 25 (17%) cases, the residual stable lesion was seen in 77(52%) of the cases and new lesions were developed in 13(9%) of the cases. Mortality was seen in 33 (22%) patients and all of them had CNS involvement. Conclusions: Systemic and protocol-based management can save the life and salvage the eyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clogging of sub entry nozzle is a recurrent problem during continuous casting of low carbon aluminum deoxidized steel. Newly modernized SMS shop, producing mainly low carbon aluminum deoxidized steel through BOF-Twin LF-CC route was facing a major issue of nozzle clogging leading to abrupt abortion of sequence casting. The incidences of SEN clogging were very high leading to loss of shop productivity. Within a span of one month around 28 cases of casting abortion were reported due SEN clogging. Casting was getting stopped in 3–4 heat sequence even after calcium treatment practice was adopted in each heat. The process of steelmaking was studied in detail to find out the root cause of nozzle clogging. It was found that dendritic clusters of alumina originating as a result of deoxidation of steel and reoxidation of aluminum during secondary refining was probably causing SEN clogging. It was also found that optimization of Ca treatment practice was required for successful continuous casting of an aluminum-killed steel. The paper elaborates the technical issues faced related to clogging of SEN in a newly installed high speed single strand slab caster during continuous casting of low carbon steel deoxidized with aluminum. The paper covers the essential steps required to identify the root cause of nozzle clogging and various process interventions essential to eliminate the SEN clogging issues and streamline the production of low carbon aluminum-killed steel in higher sequence lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech is the primary entity for personal communication however ambient quality generally impairs speech signal quality and understanding of communication. Therefore, it is required that the distorted speech signal be improved in its quality and comprehension. In the field of speech processing, great efforts have been made to develop speech enhancement techniques that restore speech signals by reducing the amount of interfering noise. This work focuses on a critical analysis of single channel speech enhancement technique that performs noise reduction through spectral subtraction based on minimal statistics. Minimal statistics implies estimating the power spectrum of a non-standard noise signal by avoiding the problem of detecting speech activity by finding the smallest value for a smooth power spectrum of a noisy speech signal. The performance of the spectral subtraction method is evaluated over a wide range of noise types with varying sound levels using single channel speech data. This estimator is used to find the optimal value for the method parameter and improve this algorithm to make it more suitable for voice communication purposes. The system can be implemented in MATLAB and also validated against a variety of performance measures and various improvements in signal-to-noise ratio (SNRI) and spectral distortion (SD). This approach provides effective speech enhancement in SNRI and SD performance metrics. A comparatively new method has been proposed in this paper named Spectral Statistics Based on Minimum Statistics (SSBMS) which customarily follows the transient noise and provides a better response in the process of speech enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane (Saccharum species complex) is an important industrial crop in India, and it contributed 6.8% to the total export earnings from agricultural products during 2020–21. India ranked second after Brazil in terms of area and production of sugarcane and accounted for 17.5% and 19.4% of the global acreage and production, respectively. This paper presents the scenario of sugarcane growth in India during 1950–51 to 2020–21, varietal development, diversity in seed chain and breeder seed production during the last 11 years. The area under sugarcane cultivation increased by 184.2% (1.71 mha in 1950–51 to 4.86 mha in 2020–21), while cane production registered an increase of 599.8% (57.05 MT in 1950–51 to 399.25 MT in 2020–21). An appreciable yield improvement (82.2 t/ha in 2020–21) compared to 33.4 t/ha in (1950–51) could be the major driver for such manifold increase in sugarcane production. The annual compound growth rate in the last decade was 4.67%, 10.33%, 10.70%, 6.78% and 11.71% for cane area, production, yield, sugar recovery and sugar production, respectively. The release and notification of 139 high yielding and high sugar content varieties by Central Sub-committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops since the notification was adapted in 1969, reflect robust sugarcane varietal development programme executed under the aegis of All India Coordinated Research Project on Sugarcane (AICRP-S). About 54.7% (76) of these high yielding varieties have been developed and released during the last 11 years (2011–21). The number of sugarcane varieties grown across 17 states of the country varied from 114 (2011–12) to 146 (2018–19), and Uttar Pradesh had the highest varietal diversity in the seed chain followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra. The breeder seed production from 2010–11 to 2020–21 increased consistently, despite annual fluctuations and was higher by 10.8% in 2011–12 to 95.5% in 2019–20 than that of the base year (2010–11). In the last 11 years, Uttar Pradesh contributed the highest breeder seed production which ranged from 50.1% (2010–11) to 71.8% (2013–14). This status paper discusses the possible impact of the sugarcane varietal development and seed/variety replacement by analysing trends in area, production, yield, foreign exchange earnings through sugar export and net per capita sugar availability during the last decade. Future crop outlook and strategies to bridge the widening gap in sugar demand and supply in the country are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater quality is regulated by hydrological, physical, geochemical and biological factors. The current study assessed groundwater quality with the help of a water quality index by integrating the analysis of physicochemical parameters and heavy metals at 40 rural locations in Hooghly and Howrah districts along the lower Damodar river. The water quality index showed that 51.89 km2 out of the 601.17 km2 study area exceeded acceptable limits (water quality index > 100) of potable water. Arsenic was the most sensitive parameter followed by iron, manganese and fluoride. Bairakurchi area was severely contaminated due to high concentration of arsenic and iron, and Haraditiya was severely contaminated due to high concentration of iron. A risk assessment was performed for adults and children on exposure to heavy metals, using deterministic and probabilistic approaches. Monte Carlo simulation was applied for the probabilistic analysis and sensitivity analysis to determine the parameters most influencing risk hazard. The hazard index demonstrated that children were at higher risk than adults. The sensitivity analysis showed that concentration of heavy metals greatly influenced risk value. Principal component analysis and correlation matrix were applied to ascertain the relationship among the parameters. Five principal components were extracted with 76.29% cumulative variance. A strong correlation was found between heavy metals and physicochemical parameters, i.e. arsenic and iron (0.928), arsenic and manganese (0.809), iron and turbidity (0.867) and calcium and hardness (0.957). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Clinicians are baffling for reconstruction of small- to medium-sized defects of the oral cavity since time immemorial, each and every flap has its own limitations, ideal flap should be pliable, easily transferrable that can result in a better restoration of form and function of oral mucosa, we have platysma for the same purpose. Aims: We aim to provide surgical technique of the superiorly-based platysma myocutaneous flap with a single neck incision in this study, as well as the flap design, results, and complications associated with age, gender, the recipient site, and the size of the defect. Materials and methods: Study included 20 patients with oral potentially malignant disorders operated under local anaesthesia with wide local excision and reconstruction with platysma myocutaneous flap at a single tertiary care centre. Statistical Analysis: The association between the variables was calculated using Chi-square tests and paired t tests. P <.05 was considered significant. Results: Five cases of dehiscence were found at varied sites and flap viability was significantly influenced by location of skin paddle. In between anterior jugular vein and posterior external jugular vein it was 100% viable while on and posterior to the vein, had skin paddle loss. Significant improvement in mouth opening was also seen in Oral Sub-mucous Fibrosis patients. Conclusion: The platysma flap is a technique sensitive, and its results are promising for the reconstruction of oral defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of things (IoTs) has been the smartest technology proven worldwide these days. The application products of IoTs are Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) and Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET). Both of these two are infrastructure less networks as they do not need any fixed infrastructure for operations. In MANET mobile nodes can communicate via routing protocols generally used in defense areas and in VANET Internet of vehicles (IoV) mobile vehicles communicate with other & share related information such as route directions, traffic density. The most challenging task is to maintain the efficient delivery of data packet. In current study a performance analysis of an infrastructure less network is done using two advance protocols that are implemented in a virtual traffic scenario with active mobility concept. By using the N3 simulation for stable link-based zone routing protocol (SL-ZRP) & Intelligent routing ad hoc on demand distance vector (IR-AODV). The estimated results are achieved in the form of lesser end to end delay & improved PDR by SL-ZRP but the energy consumption was high by SL-ZRP. Current study will be applicable in the defense sector where spontaneous communication setup is organized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to address to the problem of native language in a mixed voice environment. G- Cocktail would aid these applications in identifying commands given in Gujarati, even from a mixed voice stream. There are two phases of G-cocktail in the first phase, it creates features after filtering the voices and in the second it trains and classifies the dataset. This trained dataset helps in recognizing the new voice signal. The challenge in training a native language is the availability of a small dataset. A single-word input is used in model and phrase benchmark dataset from Microsoft and the Linguistic Data Consortium for Indian Languages (LDC-IL). To overcome the over fitting problem due to smaller dataset we used CatBoost algorithm. And fine-tuned the classification model to avoid the over fitting issue. Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) are coefficients that collectively make up an MFC. They are derived from a type of cepstral representation of the audio clip (a nonlinear "spectrum-of-a-spectrum"). MFCC is good for human voices but noises in the sound makes it less productive. To avoid this shortcoming of MFCC, first filtered the voices are used and then calculated the MFCC. The most relevant features are retained to make it more robust. With MFCC features, the pitch of the voices is also added, as pitch could vary with regional changes, mood of the person, age, and knowledge of the language to the speaker. A voice print of the whole sound files is constructed and fed it as features to the classification model. For training and testing 70% and 30% ratio is used in algorithms like K-means, Naïve Bayes, and Light GBM. Proposed model is compared with given data set and results proved that G-cocktail using XBoost performed better than the others under the given scenario in all parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sucrose is the prime product of sugarcane and a significant variation has been observed among different sugarcane genotypes for the time taken to initiate sucrose accumulation. High sucrose accumulation in sugarcane at early crop phase is one of the most desirable traits, since it can help in reducing its long growth cycle. This study is based on a segregating population raised in sub-tropical India, where, sucrose accumulation starts at ~ 10-month crop stage. RNA-seq data of two extreme bulks from a segregating full-sib population and its parents were used to identify differential genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with early season high sucrose accumulation. A total of 49 common significantly differential genes were identified between high- and low- sucrose parents and bulks among which chlorophyll a-b binding protein and psaK were observed as initial points of sucrose-mediated feedback regulation. The high sucrose accumulation during early season coincided with upregulation of transcription factors (TIFY10a and ERF), and genes related to arabinogalactans, glutaredoxin, ethylene and amino acid transporters as well as downregulation of genes for solute transport (PUP, STP) and hormones (ABA and IAA). Further, six of the identified early sucrose linked DEGs, viz., ethylene-responsive transcription factor 1 (AP 2), TIFY, YUCCA, Monosaccharide transporter 2, Photosystem I reaction center subunit psaK, and chlorophyll a-b binding protein were validated for similar patterns of differential expression in a panel of sugarcane genotypes comprising the two parents and three varieties each showing early season high and low sucrose accumulation. This study was further able to identify significantly differential SNPs located pre-dominantly on several transcription factors, receptor kinases, glucuronosyltransferase, callose synthase, microRNA biogenesis complex and phytohormone action. These preliminary results provide useful insights into the role of differential genes and allelic heterozygosity in early season sucrose accumulation in sugarcane. Further confirmation of the role of these genes in early sucrose accumulation is suggested and could assist in the production of early maturing sugarcane varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to identify the novel QTLs controlling salinity and sodicity tolerance using indica MAGIC rice population. Phenotyping was carried out in salinity (EC ~ 10 dS/m) and sodicity (pH ~ 9.8) at the seedling stage. Among 391 lines, 43 and 98 lines were found tolerant and moderately tolerant to salinity. For sodicity condition, 2 and 45 lines were showed tolerance and moderately tolerance at seedling stage. MAGIC population was genotyped with the help of genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and filtered 27041SNPs were used for genome wide marker trait association studies. With respect to salinity tolerance, 25 SNPs were distributed on chromosomes 1, 5, 11 and 12, whereas 18 SNPs were mapped on chromosomes 6, 4 and 11 with LOD value of > 3.25 to sodicity tolerance in rice. The candidate gene analysis detected twelve causal genes including SKC1 gene at Saltol region for salinity and six associated genes for sodic stress tolerance. The significant haplotypes responsible for core histone protein coding gene (LOC_Os12g25120) and three uncharacterized protein coding genes (LOC_Os01g20710, LOC_Os01g20870 and LOC_Os12g22020) were identified under saline stress. Likewise, five significant haplotypes coding for ribose 5-phosphate isomerise (LOC_Os04g24140), aspartyl protease (LOC_Os06g15760), aluminum-activated malate transporter (LOC_Os06g15779), OsFBX421-Fbox domain containing protein (LOC_Os11g32940) and one uncharacterized protein (LOC_Os11g32930) were detected for sodic stress tolerance. The identified novel SNPs could be the potential candidates for functional characterization. These candidate genes aid to further understanding of genetic mechanism on salinity and sodicity stress tolerance in rice. The tolerant line could be used in future breeding programme to enhance the salinity and sodicity tolerance in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare and evaluate the modified tragus edge approach (MTEA) with retromandibular approach for surgical access to mid-level or low-level mandibular condylar fractures. Materials and Methods: This study comprised of 22 patients with mid-level or low-level condylar fracture. Patients with clinical and radiological evidence of mid-level or low-level condylar fracture are included only in this study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: group A includes 11 patients, in which modified tragus edge approach was used, and group B includes 11 patients treated with retromandibular approach. Patients were evaluated clinically after first week, second week, fourth week, third month, and sixth month radiographically. Results: The mean age of the study subjects in group A was 32.45 ± 8.98 years, while in group B, the mean age was 26.91 ± 5.79 years. Post-operatively, no significant difference was seen in relation to pain, occlusal relationship, mouth opening, and deviation of jaw during opening and closing movements. In terms of post-operative complication, only significant difference found between two groups is post-operative scar visibility, which is higher in retromandibular incision group as compared to MTEA. Conclusion: Thus, we can conclude that MTEA provides ease of operation as a good exposure of mandibular mid- or low-level condylar fracture as retromandibular approach but with less visibility of post-operative scar as compared to retromandibular approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elastic scattering angular distributions have been measured for 7 Li+ 92 , 100 Mo systems in the bombarding energy range of 0.85 to almost two times the Coulomb barrier. The measured elastic scattering angular distributions are fitted using optical model to investigate energy dependence of the real and imaginary strength parameters with phenomenological Woods-Saxon and double folding S a ~ o Paulo potentials. Both interaction potential models simulate similar patterns to energy dependence sustaining the same consequence of breakup threshold anomaly. The results of Continuum Discretized Coupled Channels (CDCC) Calculations with inclusion of the breakup coupling of the projectile compares experimental elastic scattering angular distribution better for the 7 Li+ 92 , 100 Mo systems rather than excluding breakup coupling. A systematic behaviour of total reaction cross section on target and projectile dependency has been investigated by including a wide range of target mass and tightly to weakly bound projectiles. A comparative study on obtained breakup and reaction cross sections has also been carried out for 7 Li+ 92 , 100 Mo systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcoidosis is a multi-organ disorder where immunology, genetic and environmental factors play a key role in causing Sarcoidosis, but its molecular mechanism remains unclear. Identification of its genetics profiling that regulates the Sarcoidosis network will be one of the main challenges to understand its aetiology. We have identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by analyzing the gene expression profiling of Sarcoidosis and compared it with healthy control. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that these DEGs were mainly enriched in the inflammatory response, immune system, and pathways in cancer. Sarcoidosis protein interaction network was constructed by a total of 877 DEGs (up-down) and calculated its network topological properties, which follow hierarchical scale-free fractal nature up to six levels of the organization. We identified a large number of leading hubs that contain six key regulators (KRs) including ICOS, CTLA4, FLT3LG, CD33, GPR29 and ITGA4 are deeply rooted in the network from top to bottom, considering a backbone of the network. We identified the transcriptional factors (TFs) which are closely interacted with KRs. These genes and their TFs regulating the Sarcoidosis network are expected to be the main target for the therapeutic approaches and potential biomarkers. However, experimental validations of KRs needed to confirm their efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-produced plasma plumes and the subsequent interaction zone of multispecies colliding plasmas have been investigated in vacuum (at 5 × 10 - 7 mbar) by using Nd:YAG nanosecond laser as the energy source. The key features such as shape, size, expansion dynamics of the primary plumes and the resulting interaction zone have been examined by using a combination of solid targets (e.g. Al–Ni and Al–W) with different atomic masses. Fast imaging technique has been utilised to visualise the formation and expansion dynamics of the primary plasma plumes as well as the interaction zone. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is used to estimate the electron temperature and density of the plasma plumes. Optical time of flight has been used to get the velocity of ion and neutral particles in the plasma plume. Time-resolved images of plumes show significant differences depending on the target materials and energy of the two beams. We have observed that the primary plasma plumes with non-uniform expansion velocity produces interaction zone which expands at an angle in vacuum. Optimisation of laser energy imbalance has been done based on fast imaging results for the targets of different elements. These experimental findings can have important roles in the generation of multispecies plasma plumes and to control their species contribution in different applications, e.g. thin film deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cross section of the 51 V n , p 51 Ti reaction was measured at 7.87, 13.05 and 16.98 MeV neutron energies using the activation technique and offline γ -ray spectrometry. Vanadium targets were activated along with Al monitor foil to measure the cross section relative to the standard 27 Al n , α 24 Na reference reaction. The quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were produced via the 7 Li p , n reaction at the 14UD BARC-TIFR Pelletron Facility, Mumbai, India. Statistical nuclear reaction Talys (ver. 1.9) code was used for the theoretical estimations of the 51 V n , p 51 Ti reaction cross section. Additionally, the effects of different input parameters were considered in present work to reproduction of the experimental data more accurately. The experimental data of the present measurements were discussed and compared with the previous measurements taken from the EXFOR compilation and latest evaluations of the ENDF/B-VIII.0, JENDL/AD-2017 and TENDL-2019 libraries. The covariance method was used to estimate the magnitudes of the uncertainties in the present cross section measurements. Furthermore, the different systematic formulae at 14–15 MeV energies were used to calculate the n , p , n , 2 n and n , α reactions cross section for structural material vanadium. The calculated cross sections from the formulae were discussed and compared with the available experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work proposes a cut-cell-based Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) solver, for computing rarefied flows around complex geometries on Cartesian grids, wherein analytical expression for the surface of the immersed boundary (IB) is considered to evaluate cut-cell volume as well as to implement the particle–boundary interactions. Consequently the proposed DSMC solver models an accurate collision rate in the cut cells and ensures an analytically expressed IB-based implementation of the boundary conditions at the surface of the immersed geometry, as in the IB methods for the continuum flows. Performance of the present Cartesian cut-cell-based DSMC solver is tested on a variety of rarefied gas flows around three complex geometries (cylinder, NACA 0012 airfoil and double-wedge airfoil) for various flow speeds (ranging from M a = 2 to 10) and degrees of rarefication (varying from K n = 0.25 to around 0.0032). Results of our computations on Cartesian grids show a very good agreement with the corresponding DSMC results in literature computed on body-fitted grids. Furthermore, the present results show a good agreement with the corresponding experimental data in the literature. Straightforward and analytically expressed IB-based implementation in the proposed DSMC solver can make it a natural choice for its coupling with an immersed boundary method (IBM)-based continuum solver for a novel coupled IBM–DSMC method for continuum–rarefied gas flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction cross sections of 197 Au(n,2n) 196 Au, 115 In(n,n ′ ) 115 m In, 232 Th(n,f) 97 Zr, and 238 U(n,f) 97 Zr reactions were measured at different neutron energies using standard neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique followed by off-line γ -ray spectrometry. The irradiation was performed using the BARC-TIFR Pelletron facility in Mumbai, India. The quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam was generated using the 7 Li(p,n) 7 Be reaction. The measured data are compared with available experimental data in the EXFOR database, different evaluated libraries such as ENDF/B-VIII.0, JEFF-3.3, JENDL-4.0, CENDL-3.1, IRDFF II, TENDL-2017 and with the results predicted using nuclear modular code TALYS-1.9. The TALYS-1.9 code was used for a better description of the present work and literature data. The reactions studied in the present paper are considered flux monitor reactions as they are widely used for the measurement of neutron flux in NAA-technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise can drive the dynamics of stochastic systems to different important states. Delay is another significant parameter that may impart non-Markovian behavior in the system dynamics. The interplay of noise and delay can exhibit interesting, complex behaviors in stochastic systems. In this work, we considered the stochastic gene expression model and studied this interplay of noise and delay in describing the functioning of a gene via transcription and translation processes. The calculated probability distributions of mRNA and protein, both in non-delay and delay, are found to obey certain universal classes, namely Poisson distribution at u , N → l a r g e limit, and Normal distribution at u , ⟨ u ⟩ , N → l a r g e limit. Analytical result of noise, measured by the Fano factor, indicates that, both in delay and non-delay cases, the gene expression system follows sub-Poissonian processes when the values of parameters are far from asymptotic values and that it becomes Poissonian at asymptotic values of the system parameters. We provided a detailed study of the noise using the Fano Factor with respect to different parameters such as mean, initial population, and time delay for the gene expression process. Again, the stochastic simulation results of the model indicate the transition of mRNA states (low and high transcription and translation) driven by the translation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioremediation of beverage (treated and untreated) effluent was investigated in the current study by using the potential strains of Bacillus sp. (BK1) and Aspergillus sp. (BK2). Effluent was collected from the beverage industry (initial concentration of nitrogen were 3200 ± 0.5 mg/L and 4400 ± 0.6 mg/L whereas phosphorus were 4400 ± 2 mg/L and 2600 ± 1 mg/L in treated and untreated effluent correspondingly). Further, the BK1 and BK2 exhibited high removal competence after 1 week of incubation; BK1 removed phosphorus 99.95 ± 0.7% and BK2 95.69 ± 1% in treated effluent while nitrogen removed about 99.90 ± 0.4% by BK1 and 81.25 ± 0.8% by BK2 (initial concentration of phosphorus 4400 ± 2 mg/L and nitrogen 3200 ± 0.5 mg/L). Next, in the untreated effluent BK1 removed 99.81 ± 1% and BK2 99.85 ± 0.8% of phosphorus while removed nitrogen 99.93 ± 0.5% by BK1 and 99.95 ± 1.2% by BK2 correspondingly, (initial concentration of phosphorus 2600 ± 1 mg/L and nitrogen 4400 ± 0.6 mg/L). The physiochemical composition of sample such as pH, total carbohydrates, total proteins, total solids of treated and untreated effluent were also analysed before and after treatment of both the samples. BK1 and BK2 increased the pH by 8.94 ± 0.3 and 9.5 ± 0.4 correspondingly in treated effluent whereas 6.34 ± 0.5 and 7.5 ± 0.2 correspondingly in untreated effluent (initial pH of treated and untreated effluent 7.07 ± 0.8 and 4.85 ± 0.3 correspondingly). Total Carbohydrates removed about 17,440 ± 4.6 mg/L and 10,680 ± 3.2 mg/L by BK1 and BK2 correspondingly in treated effluent whereas 18,050 ± 3.5 mg/L and 18,340 ± 2.3 mg/L correspondingly in untreated effluent (initial concentration of treated and untreated effluent 25,780 ± 1.6 mg/L and 35,000 ± 1.5 mg/L correspondingly) while BK1 and BK2 removed total proteins by 30.336 ± 4.6 mg/L and 40.417 ± 2.3 mg/L correspondingly in treated effluent whereas 18.929 ± 1.2 mg/L and 17.526 ± 0.8 mg/L correspondingly in untreated effluent (initial concentration of treated and untreated effluent 49.225 ± 1.5 mg/L and 20.565 ± 1 mg/L correspondingly). Next, total solids removed by BK1 and BK2 2.5 ± 0.3 mg/L and 1.6 ± 0.6 mg/L correspondingly in treated effluent whereas 5.5 ± 0.8 mg/L and 4.6 ± 0.6 mg/L in untreated effluent (initial concentration of treated and untreated effluent 5.6 ± 1.5 mg/L and 9.48 ± 1.2 mg/L correspondingly). Both the strains BK1 and BK2 are highly efficient in the nitrogen and phosphorus removal therefore this strain may be applied for the potential remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel, convenient and economical method was developed for the anodic thiocyanation of nitrogen-containing aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds by constant potential electrolysis of potassium thiocyanate in an undivided cell under mild condition (25°C, Pt anode, CH3CN) with yields up to 91%. The products were characterized by spectroscopic methods and a mechanism was deduced from voltammetry studies. The salient features of proposed procedure ensures mild reaction conditions, shortest reaction time, accelerated rate, high yield, cost-effectiveness, selectivity, and simple work up procedure, Which provide additional advantages in the context of green chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 107Ag(n, 2n)106mAg reaction cross sections at the neutron energies of 10.50 ± 0.68, 13.52 ± 0.67, 16.86 ± 0.58 and 19.86 ± 0.59 MeV were measured by using the off-line γ-ray spectroscopy and activation analysis techniques. The 7Li(p, n) reaction was used to produce the high-energy quasi-monoenergetic neutrons with the proton beam from the 14UD BARC-TIFR Pelletron facilities at Mumbai, India. The neutron flux was monitored using the standard 27Al(n, α)24Na monitor reaction. The detailed uncertainties analysis in the measured cross sections was performed using the covariance analysis. The cross sections were also theoretically calculated using TALYS-1.9 code from 10 to 25 MeV energies. The measured cross-sections data are compared with the evaluated data from TENDL-2019, JENDL-4.0 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 libraries as well as with the existing experimental data available in EXFOR compilation. Our data show good agreement with some of the previous experimental data and with the theoretical values calculated with TALYS-1.9 code. Present work will provide better description of level density models and pre-equilibrium process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (n,2n) and (n,p) reaction cross-sections of 90Zr isotope have been measured in 10.95 to 20.02 MeV neutron energy range by using activation and off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique. 27Al(n,α)24Na and 115In(n,n')115mIn monitor reactions have been used to measure the neutron fluence. The reaction cross-sections were estimated from TALYS-1.9 and EMPIRE-3.2.2 codes by making the selection of different input parameters. The uncertainties in the measurement were estimated using covariance analysis. The present results have been compared with the data measured previously by different authors and available in different evaluated nuclear data files. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cross sections of the selenium isotopes 76Se, 77Se, 78Se and 80Se within 10.5–19.81 MeV neutron energy range have been measured through neutron activation method along with off-line γ-ray spectrometry. The quasi-monoenergetic neutrons were produced from the 7Li p , n reaction at 14UD BARC-TIFR Pelletron Accelerator Facility, Mumbai, India. The statistical codes TALYS-1.9 and EMPIRE-3.2.2 were applied for the theoretical calculation of reaction cross sections with different level density models from 2 to 22 MeV neutron energies. Besides this, the Se n , p As reaction cross sections were also calculated from different systematic formulae within 14–15 MeV neutron energies. The measured data were compared with existing literature data available in the EXFOR database, evaluated data of ENDF/B-VIII.0, JENDL-4.0 and TENDL-2019 libraries and with theoretical outcomes through TALYS-1.9 and EMPIRE-3.2.2 codes. The uncertainties in existing cross sections were calculated through the method of covariance analysis by including partial uncertainties and correlation among the different attributes. The n , p reaction cross sections of selenium isotopes at higher neutron energies first time measured in the present work can be added as new data in the nuclear data library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrologic regime changes of the Roanoke River basin under three different scenarios defined based on different periods of post-impact datasets have been studied. For evaluating the degree of hydrologic alterations, the traditional and improved range of variability approach (RVA) which incorporate periodicity [as an index of periodicity (IP)], trend [as an index of trend (IT)], and symmetry [as an index of symmetry (IS)] of the parameters has been used. Comparative analysis of the results obtained with traditional and improved RVA and that obtained with the histogram matching approach (HMA) has also been performed. The overall degree of hydrologic alteration obtained through traditional RVA for Scenarios-I, II, and III was 0.39, 0.42, and 0.40, respectively. The improved RVA method, when applied to the 32 IHA parameters, indicates that many IHA parameters exhibit a higher IP or IT or IS value compared to the corresponding value of the degree of hydrologic alteration (DR), which underscore the inadequacy of the traditional RVA in assessing the degree of alteration in the flow regime of the Roanoke River. Through principal component analysis, the most ecologically relevant hydrologic indicators for understanding eco-hydrology of Roanoke River have been identified, which include Julian date of maximum flow, monthly flow for July and September, and 90-day maximum flow. Analysis of results further reveals that the combination of improved RVA and HMA can better reveal changes in IHAs and provide a better tool for designing strategies to enhance further the ecosystem services available from a managed river system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study a minimal model of the stress-driven p53 regulatory network that includes competition between active and mutant forms of the tumor-suppressor gene p53. Depending on the nature and level of the external stress signal, four distinct dynamical states of p53 are observed. These states can be distinguished by different dynamical properties which associate to active, apoptotic, pre-malignant and cancer states. Transitions between any two states, active, apoptotic, and cancer, are found to be unidirectional and irreversible if the stress signal is either oscillatory or constant. When the signal decays exponentially, the apoptotic state vanishes, and for low stress the pre-malignant state is bounded by two critical points, allowing the system to transition reversibly from the active to the pre-malignant state. For significantly large stress, the range of the pre-malignant state expands, and the system moves to irreversible cancerous state, which is a stable attractor. This suggests that identification of the pre-malignant state may be important both for therapeutic intervention as well as for drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous-drive rotary friction welding was performed to join cylindrical specimens of carbon steel (EN24) and nickel-based superalloy (IN718), and the microstructures of three distinct weld zones—the weld interface (WI)/thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), the heat-affected zone (HAZ), and the base metal—were examined. The joint was observed to be free of defects but featured uneven flash formation. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis showed substantial changes in high-angle grain boundaries, low-angle grain boundaries, and twin boundaries in the TMAZ and HAZ. Moreover, significant refinement in grain size (2–5 μm) was observed at the WI/TMAZ with reference to the base metal. The possible causes of these are discussed. The microhardness profile across the welded joint shows variation in hardness. The changes in hardness are ascribed to grain refinement, phase transformation, and the dissolution of strengthening precipitates. The tensile test results reveal that a joint efficiency of 100% can be achieved using this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various agroforestry systems are prevalent in different agro-climatic regions of India and occupy sizeable area. Populus deltoides (poplar) based agroforestry systems are very predominant in Indo-Gangetic Plains of northern India. These systems are not only meeting wood demand of wood-based industries but also contributing significantly in generating employment, reducing atmospheric CO2 vis-à-vis mitigating climate change. The present study aimed at estimating area under poplar plantations and assessment of biomass production and carbon stock at district level for selected districts of Punjab and Haryana states. High resolution multispectral remote sensing data (LISS-IV, spatial resolution- 5.8 m) have been used for mapping poplar area in these districts. Growth data (tree density, diameter at breast height) from farmers' fields were collected for assessment of aboveground and total biomass. Poplar area in Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Ludhiana, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra and Karnal districts accounted for 3.19, 4.09, 1.02, 0.43, 7.25, 1.58 and 0.97%, respectively, of their geographical area. As percentage of agroforestry area, poplar area occupied 43.8% in four districts of Punjab and 53.4% in three districts of Haryana. Estimated carbon stock in total biomass of poplar plantations was 0.931, 0.481, 0.287, 0.040, 0.949, 0.256 and 0.229 million tonnes, respectively. CO2 equivalent C in aboveground and total biomass was estimated to be 7.854 and 9.946 million t, respectively, in all these seven districts. The proposed methodology based on object-oriented image classification showed promising results as far as mapping of agroforestry systems/species is concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane is one of the most important economic crops and contributes more than 80% of the sugar globally. Developing superior sugarcane varieties is a long-term process due to polyploidy, high chromosome numbers, large complex genome size and also many other practical constraints like long breeding cycle, etc. The recent advancements in molecular markers, next-gen sequencing tools and development of robust statistical models have the potential to lead to affordable genomics-assisted breeding in sugarcane. In order to identify genes linked to trait(s) of interest, association mapping has good prospects as a feasible approach in sugarcane. Association mapping (AM) is a recent technique that identifies quantitative trait loci (QTLs) by investigating marker–trait associations that arise due to the linkage disequilibrium between the genotypic polymorphic loci and the phenotypic variation in a diverse panel of genotypes. In last decade, the understanding of association mapping has increased significantly, due to which focussed efforts are now been made in developing association mapping population, genome-wide association studies and detection of QTLs for several important traits in sugarcane. In contrast to linkage mapping, detecting QTLs through AM approach in sugarcane has certain advantages as historical phenotypic data could be used and there is no need to artificially develop a structured segregating population. The last few years have witnessed a more concerted effort in AM studies in sugarcane where a range of marker tools like SSRs, DArT, GBS, targeted sequence enrichment, etc. were exploited to find out QTLs linked to traits of economic importance. In this review, the recent developments in the area of association mapping in sugarcane and the various methodologies and statistical tools that are being adopted have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine teschovirus (PTV) previously classified as porcine enteroviruses in the family Picornaviridae are associated with a wide range of illnesses in swine ranging from asymptomatic infection to acute fatal encephalomyelitis, diarrhea, and pneumonia. This study was planned to investigate whether porcine teschovirus is prevalent among pigs in India and to characterize the PTV identified in the study population. The study conducted in certain farms of North India revealed that 13 of 190 (6.84%) fecal samples were PTV positive by RT-PCR. Three viruses were successfully isolated from fecal samples using IB-RS-2 cell lines which were confirmed by RT-PCR and sequencing. Molecular characterization based on the VP1 region of the viral genome identified the isolated viruses as serotype 5 and serotype 8 of PTV. A new variant of teschovirus was also identified which showed significant nucleotide diversity from the known serotypes of the teschoviruses. This is the first report of isolation, identification, and characterization of porcine teschoviruses in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Accelerated erosion removes fertile top soil along with nutrients through runoff and sediments, eventually affecting crop productivity and land degradation. However, scanty information is available on soil and nutrient losses under different crop covers in a vertisol of Central India. Thus, a field experiment was conducted for 4 years (2010–2013) to study the effect of different crop cover combinations on soil and nutrient losses through runoff in a vertisol. Materials and methods: Very limited information is available on runoff, soil, and nutrient losses under different vegetative covers in a rainfed vertisol. Thus, the hypothesis of the study was to evaluate if different crop cover combinations would have greater impact on reducing soil and nutrient losses compared to control plots in a vertisol. This experiment consisted of seven treatment combinations of crop covers namely soybean (Glycine max) (CC1), maize (Zea mays) (CC2), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) (CC3), soybean (Glycine max) + maize (Zea mays) − 1:1 (CC4), soybean (Glycine ma x)) + pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) −2:1 (CC5), maize (Zea mays) + pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) − 1:1 (CC6), and cultivated fallow (CC7). The plot size was 10 × 5 m with 1% slope, and runoff and soil loss were measured using multi-slot devisor. All treatments were arranged in a randomized block design with three replications. Results and discussion: Results demonstrated that the runoff and soil loss were significantly (p < 0.05) higher (289 mm and 3.92 Mg ha−1) under cultivated fallow than those in cropped plots. Among various crop covers, sole pigeon pea (CC3) recorded significantly higher runoff and soil loss (257 mm and 3.16 Mg ha−1) followed by that under sole maize (CC2) (235 mm and 2.85 Mg ha−1) and the intercrops were in the order of maize + pigeon pea (211 mm and 2.47 Mg ha−1) followed by soybean + maize (202 mm and 2.38 Mg ha−1), and soybean + pigeon pea (195 mm and 2.15 Mg ha−1). The lowest runoff and soil loss were recorded under soybean sole crop (194 mm and 2.27 Mg ha−1). The data on nutrient losses indicated that the highest losses of soil organic carbon (SOC) (25.83 kg ha−1), total nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) (7.76, 0.96, 32.5 kg ha−1) were recorded in cultivated fallow (CC7) as compared to those from sole and intercrop treatments. However, sole soybean and its intercrops recorded the minimum losses of SOC and total N, P, and K, whereas the maximum losses of nutrients were recorded under pigeon pea (CC3). The system productivity in terms of soybean grain equivalent yield (SGEY) was higher (p < 0.05) from maize + pigeon pea (3358 kg ha−1) followed by that for soybean + pigeon pea (2191 kg ha−1) as compared to sole soybean. Therefore, maize + pigeon pea (1:1) intercropping is the promising option in reducing runoff, soil-nutrient losses, and enhancing crop productivity in the hot sub-humid eco-region. Conclusions: Study results highlight the need for maintenance of suitable vegetative cover as of great significance to diffusing the erosive energy of heavy rains and also safe guarding the soil resource from degradation by water erosion in vertisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The development of an enzymatic assay for the specific quantification of the C1-oxidation product, i.e. gluconic acid of cellulose active lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs). Results: In combination with a β-glucosidase, the spectrophotometrical assay can reliably quantify the specific C1- oxidation product of LPMOs acting on cellulose. It is applicable for a pure cellulose model substrate as well as lignocellulosic biomass. The enzymatic assay compares well with the quantification performed by HPAEC-PAD. In addition, we show that simple boiling is not sufficient to inactivate LPMOs and we suggest to apply a metal chelator in addition to boiling or to drastically increase pH for proper inactivation. Conclusions: We conclude that the versatility of this simple enzymatic assay makes it useful in a wide range of experiments in basic and applied LPMO research and without the need for expensive instrumentation, e.g. HPAEC-PAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]