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The electrical discharge machining is very successful and generally recognized for producing complicated shapes and small openings with exceptional precision. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of different electrical discharge machining parameters on the attributes of the machining process. The evaluation of the machining process was conducted based on the workpiece's material removal rate, the rate at which the electrodes wear, and the level of surface roughness. Simultaneously achieving a high material removal rate, low electrode wear rate, and high surface roughness is not possible with a specific combination of approaches due to their contradicting nature. Frequently, it is necessary to independently apply many measures instantaneously in order to assess their impact on various responses. This research investigates the machining of high carbon high chromium steel making use of electrical discharge machining with aluminum, copper, and graphite electrodes. The study focuses on the impact of different current intensities on the rate of material removal, electrode wear, and surface roughness. The experimental results demonstrate that the highest material removal rate (mmcubicmin−1) is achieved at a current density of 12 A when using a copper electrode (54.67), as opposed to aluminum electrode (22.91) and graphite electrode (29.43). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Oryzae sativa L) is suffering from several biotic and abiotic factors. Among biotic factors, brown leaf spot of rice (BLS) is potentially devastating disease of rice causing the severe yield losses up to 100%. The current study was designed to evaluate most effective synthetic fungicides management strategy towards BLS disease. For this purpose, 12 fungicides were screened out under in vitro conditions and four most effective fungicides were further demonstrated against the targeted pathogen with three different concentrations (100, 150 and 150 ppm) by using poisoned food technique. The results revealed that propiconazole and thiophanate methyl showed the strong inhibitory effect against B. oryzae followed by contaf plus and bavistin respectively. The promising fungicides (propiconazole and thiophanate methyl) under lab conditions were further evaluated in vivo against BLS disease by using 3 types of applications i.e. Pre-inoculation, Post-inoculation and after symptoms appearance. Findings showed that, Post-inoculation was found most effective as compared to other applications, furthermore combination of propiconazole and thiophanate methyl showed significant reduction in disease incidence percent as compared to solo applications. The reduction in disease incidence percent in all application methods suggested that these synthetic fungicides could be used against BLS of rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research was conducted to determine the effect of various concentrations of Eucalyptus globulus leaves powder on growth performance, blood components, immune response, and carcass traits in one-day-old male (Hubbard) chickens. A total of 180-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into four groups i.e., R1, R2, R3, and R4. Group R1, as control, whereas groups R2, R3, and R4 were fed at the dose of 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75% of eucalyptus leaves powder/kg feed of broilers, respectively. The Results showed a significant (P<0.05) increased in body weight and maximum water consumption by treated groups. The highest feed intake was consumed by control group. Feed conversion ratio was improved in all treated groups. Carcass weight and dressing percentage were improved significantly (P<0.05) in treated groups. Weights of edible and non-edible organs showed non-significant (P>0.05) differences among treated groups. White blood cells significantly (P<0.05) increased in treated groups. The values of red blood cells and hemoglobin were non-significant (P>0.05) in treated groups. Glucose levels significantly (P<0.05) increased in treated groups, whereas cholesterol levels were recorded to decreased as non-significant (P>0.05) among treated groups. Levels of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) recorded a significant (P<0.05) increased among all treated groups as compared to control group. Treated groups with Eucalyptus globulus powder were observed to improve the immunity against Newcastle disease and infections bronchitis in birds as compared to control group. It is concluded that Eucalyptus globulus 0.75%/kg in feed showed as a useful replacement for antibiotics and would improve growth performance, blood components, and immune response of broiler chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current investigation was conducted to comprehend the girth increment and axial variation impact on the anatomical behavior of wood. To determine the intended uses, it is important to investigate the anatomical features of the wood. For this study, wood was removed from seeds origin Pterygota alata which were farm grown in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India. And from that 2×2×2 cm dimension samples were collected from four different girth classes (30-45, 45-90, 120-150, and 150-180 cm) and three axial positions (25%, 50% and 75% of the tree height). The samples were then subjected to microtomy, maceration, and optical measurements. The vessel, fibre, and ray anatomy were studied in this investigation. A log-linear model was used to examine the combined impact of girth increment, axial positions and their interaction. Fibre length, fibre diameter, fibre wall thickness, vessel length, ray height, ray width, and ray frequency were decreased towards the top, whereas fibre lumen width, vessel diameter, and vessel area were significantly increased towards the top. Growth of the girth had a positive influence on fibre length, fibre diameter, fibre lumen width, fibre wall thickness, vessel length, ray height, ray width and ray frequency. In contrast, vessel frequency decreased with the girth increment. Fibre and ray of the Pterygota alata were more than or near 1000 µm and vessels were diffuse porous among all the axial positions and girth classes. The anatomical characteristics of the Pterygota alata are similar to those of wood species used to make pulp and paper, so it could be a potential species to use in pulp production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted at the Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, during 2019-2022, to explore new alternative pulpwood species with good paper-making potential. The samples were collected from seeds origin Pterygota alata which were farm grown in Pollachi, India. A total of 12 trees were removed with a specification of four different girth classes (30-45, 45-90, 120-150, 150-180 cm), from that 6 samples were collected from three different radial positions (pith, middle, and periphery) with the dimension of 2x2x2 cm³. Then samples were subjected to microtomy, maceration, and optical analysis. Fibre, vessel, and ray anatomy were studied in the current investigation. Results revealed that the maximum value of fibre length (1458.96 ±3.47 μm), fibre diameter (25.50±1.29 μm), vessel diameter (74.94±0.13 μm), vessels area (47723.47±359.67 μm²), ray height (1731.89±46.89 μm) ray width (165.07±1.41 μm) and ray frequency (5.51±0.02 ray/mm²) were identified at the peripheral region at the girth of 150-180 and 120-150 cm. The study suggested that Pterygota alata could be the prominent alternate species for pulp and paper production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been combined so far with other photodetecting semiconductors as an enhancing agent owing to its optical and electronic properties. Existing approaches demonstrated MoS2-incorporated photodetector devices using complex and costly fabrication processes. Here, we report on simplified one-step on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) based synthesis of a unique microfiber/microflower MoS2-based heterostructure formed by capturing MoO2 intermediate material during the CVD process. This particular morphology engenders a material chemical and electronic interplay exalting the heterostructure absorption up to ~ 98% over a large spectral range between 200 and 1500 nm. An arsenal of characterization methods were used to elucidate the properties of these novel heterostructures including Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, high-resolution transmission and scanning electron microscopies, and Kelvin probe force microscopy. Our findings revealed that the MoS2 and the MoO2 crystallize in the hexagonal and monoclinic lattices, respectively. The integration of the MoS2/MoO2 heterostructures into functional photodetectors revealed a strong photoresponse under both standard sun illumination AM1.5G and blue light excitation at 450 nm. Responsivity and detectivity values as high as 0.75 mA W−1 and 1.45 × 107 Jones, respectively, were obtained with the lowest light intensity of 20 mW cm−2 at only 1 V bias. These results demonstrate the high performances achieved by the unique MoS2/MoO2 heterostructure for broadband light harvesting and pave the way for their adoption in photodetection applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green synthesis of nanoparticles has ushered in a new research field known as green or phytonanotechnology. Plant based nanotechnology has emerged as an imperative tool for the management of plant diseases. In comparison to other conventional techniques, green synthesis of various nanoparticles was found to be non-toxic, low-cost, and profitable, resulting in more stable synthesized materials. Plant-extract based methods for synthesizing nanoparticles are far more efficient and cost-effective to manage plant diseases. For the management of citrus canker, silver and copper nanoparticles were evaluated under lab conditions. The highest inhibition zone was produced under silver + copper nanoparticles (21.06 mm) follow by silver (18.26 mm) and copper nanoparticles (15.27 mm) respectively. In field, maximum disease incidence was exhibited by copper nanoparticles (41.24%), and minimum disease incidence (35.23%) was observed when silver and copper nanoparticles were used in combination as compared to the control. Minimum disease severity (23.23%) was observed when of silver and copper nanoparticles were applied in combination followed by silver nanoparticles (28.31%) and copper nanoparticles (35.23%) as compared to control under field conditions. Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was used for the laboratory and greenhouse experiments while Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used for the field experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current study was conducted to evaluate the phenotypic features and linear measurements of Pateri goat from different regions of Sindh. Seven hundred adult Pateri goats (630 female and 70 male) were randomly selected from seven habitats of Sindh and data for skin color pattern, skin color type, body shape, hair type, hair length, horn shape, horn orientation, facial profile, ear orientation, rump profile, wattles, hooves, tail, and udder profile were recorded by visual appraisal. Results revealed that among all the regions of Sindh majority of female and male Pateri goats possessed plain white body with dark brown color patches at head, neck and leg regions of body, compact body shape, smooth and straight long hairs, spiral upward horns, straight facial profile, pendulous drooping ears, sloppy rump, dark colored hooves and straight medium tail, while females having wattles and compact udder, exceptionally few cases of female and male Pateri goat showed distinct morphometric traits. The live body weight and linear body traits including chest girth, body length, withers height, height at rump, ear length, facial length, horn length, tail length, head width, hooves length of both sexes, udder and teats of female and scrotum circumference of male Pateri goat at Shaheed Benazirabad vicinity were noted comparatively (P=0.05) higher, followed by Matiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar and Sanghar districts of Sindh. Similarly, significant (P=0.05) variations were noted in the quantitative traits between both sexes (male and female) and among all the habitats of Pateri goat at Sindh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strawberry is an important fruit crop, it has been attacked by a number of pathogens. Grey mold for strawberry is commonly caused by Botrytis cinerea, which is an important fungal pathogen causing diseases in many crops. Strawberry samples affected by grey mold showing typical symptoms like browning of the fruit part, ripening berries and rotted fruit with grey mold growth were collected from different strawberry growing areas of Punjab and The National Agriculture Research Center (NARC). The associated pathogens were isolated, purified and their morphological features were observed. Pathogenicity test was conducted on fruits and were re-isolated from inoculated portions. The fungal DNA was isolated from diseased samples by using CTAB protocol. To identify the pathogens on the molecular basis PCR products were attained and amplified through universal primers. The sequence of associated pathogens were analyzed by constructing phylogenetic tree and the identified pathogens were organized into specific clades including other similar species. Different groups of fungicides, antagonistic microorganisms and plant extracts were also evaluated in-vitro against isolated fungal pathogens through poisoned food technique. Among fungicides, antagonists and plant extracts dicarboximide & benzimidazole, Trichoderma spp., Allium sativum and Mentha spicata can showed promising results against mycelial growth of B. cinerea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element with diverse physiological functions related to cellular homoeostasis, body metabolism and antioxidant defence. Se is an integral constituent of at least 25 selenoproteins in the body that regulate cellular redox and antioxidant defence enzymes systems control free radicles of reactive oxygen species . Dietary Se plays key role in immunity, growth and fertility in chickens, which require optimum levels in their diets to maintain high reproductive and productive performance of birds. In the last decade, dietary supplementation with selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) has enhanced the growth performance, feed conversion ratio, reproductive performance, egg production, immune response and antioxidant status, as well as improved the quality of meat and eggs and promoted microflora. Se has been shown to increase relative weights of immune-related organs (burse and thymus) to enhance immunity. Feeding Se-NPs can improve antioxidant status and glutathione peroxidase activities in both broilers and layers. Use of Se-NPs at 0.9 mg/kg diet in broilers improved the intestinal health via increasing the population of beneficial bacteria and producing short-chain fatty acids. This review focuses on the significance of SeNPs in poultry industry and provides insights about its comparative advantages over conventional sources of Se in poultry diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a grave concern due to changing climate phenomenon which drastically affects wheat production throughout the world. Screening drought tolerant varieties of wheat are important for ameliorating productivity of water scarce areas. An experiment was conducted at physiology division Nuclear Institute of Agriculture Tandojam (Latitude: 25.433 Longitude: 68.533) Sindh, Pakistan during 2016-2017. Treatment included a factorial combination using a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Six wheat cultivars (cv. cultivars IBWSN-1010, IBWSN-1025, TD-1, ESW-9525, Khirman and Chakwal-86) were investigated for their response at seedling stage under different water stress treatments (T-1 0, T-2 -0.5, T-3 -0.75 and T-4 -1.0 MPa) in controlled conditions. The results of experiments with reference to cultivars revealed that cultivar Khirman & IBWSN-1010 showed maximum shoot length (17.33 and 16.68 cm), while the cultivar Khirman and TD-1showed maximum root length (10.02 and 8.67 cm), shoot fresh weight (34.46 g 10-1shoots), root fresh wt. (71.76 g 10-1shoots), shoot dry wt. (13.55 g 10-1shoots), root dry wt. (13.62 g 10-1roots),while the cultivar IBWSN-1010 observed more chlorophyll contents (0.27 mg g1 fresh wt) and ionic contents (K+ and Ca2+, and K+/Ca2+ratio)(1.05, 1.03 and 0.93 %). Among all the wheat cultivars tested Khirman and IBWSN-1010 are tolerant cultivar sand have the potential to perform better under drought conditions, whereas IBWSN-1025 and Chakwal-86 were moderately tolerant under water stress conditions. Moreover, the cultivars i.e. TD-1 and ESW-9525 are the sensitive cultivars under drought environment. It may be concluded from present in-vitro studies that osmotic stress significantly reduced the shoot/root length fresh and dry weight in all six wheat cultivars. The maximum reduction (P≤0.05) was found at higher osmotic stress induced by PEG-6000 (-1.0 MPa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dieback of forest trees is considered as serious problem in most parts of the world. Shisham an important multipurpose tree of the Indian subcontinent is suffering from dieback. Changing climate in most parts of the world is considered an important factor of ecosystem disturbance. Impact of environmental variables, tree age and water table on the dieback of shisham was examined in different regions of Punjab, Pakistan. Significant correlation was observed between environmental variables and dieback in minimum, moderate and maximum infected trees among three age classes. Water table and rainfall expressed non- significant correlation. A multiple regression model was developed to determine the relationship between environmental variables and dieback. Coefficient of determination value (R² = 0.89) depicts that model is statistically good. Model indicated that most of the predictor variables has minor role in disease development except age and time span. With one unit increase in age and time span disease will increase 4.15 and 5.25 units respectively. Values of partial R-square indicated that age class (0.5253), time span (0.2943) and relative humidity (0.0552) are major contributors in disease development. It was concluded form the study that age and time span are significant predictor of dieback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface plasmon resonance of dewetted Au structures on TiO2 substrate using physical vapor deposition and post-annealing is investigated. In this work, we employ an aperture-probe scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) to study the plasmonic properties of dewetted Au structures and the influence of the size, shape, and interdistance of the dewetted structures on their plasmonic behavior. This investigation is corroborated by numerical calculations performed using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to provide a realistic and direct comparison with SNOM experiments. The near-field images obtained by both experiments and simulations reveal surface plasmon resonance around Au structures which are correlated to the broadband activity in the visible light region observed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and photoluminescence. In addition, near-field enhancement is associated with the external quantum efficiency (EQE), which shows a multi-peak response after 570 nm due higher-order modes of plasmon resonance. This broadband improvement in the visible region obtained by controlled dewetting has potential use in large-scale solar energy applications.Graphical Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of in ovo supplementation of honey in fertile eggs on the post hatch growth performance of broiler chickens. In this regard, 120 fertile eggs were divided into 3 treatments and a control group. In ovo (20%) supplementation of honey at 0.5ml/egg was inoculated into yolk sac in each treatment group on day 15, 16 and 17 of incubation and the observations were made immediately after hatch, at the end of the brooding period and at the time of harvesting. The birds were observed for hatchability percentage and growth performance parameters. Our results showed no significant difference in the hatchability percentage (84 for non-injected control, 84, 90, 94% for honey injected on day 15,16 and 17 respectively) and hatchling weight (43.9,44.5,43.8 and 44.56g) among different groups. Similarly, heart weight (0.372, 0.362, 0.364 and 0.416g), intestinal weight (2, 2, 1.89 and 1.76g) and yolk weight (4.2,4.5, and 5.0g) were also non-significant among the groups. However, liver weight (1.31,1.34,1.06 and 1.13g; P< 0.0002) was significantly different among the different groups in day old chick. Day old chicken intestinal villi length (88.7, 83, 93 and 104 µm; P<0.0000) showed marked difference among the groups. Moreover, treated groups at the end of the 14th day, also demonstrated no significant difference in the body weight, carcass weight and liver weight, however, intestinal villi length (392, 414, 429 and 469 (µm); P<0.0000) was significantly different among the groups. But at marketing stage, significant difference was observed among treated and control groups, in the average weight gain (1761g, 1735g, 1918g, and 1939g; P<0.0014), carcass weight (928, 890, 1010, and 1023g; P<0.0033) and gizzard weight (49.9, 46.5, 54.6, and 55g; P< 0.0007). The feed efficiency values were significantly better in the honey inoculated groups than the non-treated group. It is concluded that in ovo supplementation of honey in fertile eggs can increase the size of visceral organs and improve post hatch growth performance of broiler chicks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Garlic (Allium sativum) extract in 20 infectious repeat breeder crossbred cows. Animals were divided into two groups of ten in each. The animals in first group were treated intrauterine with 30 ml 15% Garlic extract w/v dissolved in saline at 24 hrs interval for 7 days, while the animals in control group were infused with 30 ml saline for 7 days. Bacterial count in uterine flushing declined significantly (p<0.05) after treatment in Garlic group. A significant increase (p< 0.05) in total cellular count and PMNs % was found in Garlic group than in control group. An overall recovery rate of 80 vs 20% and conception rate of 60 vs 10% was found in Garlic treated cows over control placebo group proving its efficacy in infectious repeat breeders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chili (Capsicum annum L.) is very valuable crop all over the world as well as Pakistan. It is commonly cultivated in subtropics and temperate regions. Damping off disease in chili caused by Pythium aphanidermatum is responsible for a potentially serious threat towards seedling mortality in both nurseries and field crop. The present study was designed to determine the pathogen of damping-off of chili and its management through chemicals in vitro. For this purpose, the pathogen was isolated from samples shown typical symptoms of damping-off on PDA media, purified and identified on the basis of morphological characteristics. To fulfill the Koch's postulate pathogenicity test was conducted. For the management of Damping-off disease of chili an experiment was designed where six fungicides were used i.e Contaf plus, Flint max, Score, Ellectus super, Fossil, Topsin M with three different concentrations (100, 150 and 200 ppm). to check their efficiency against isolated pathogen by using Poisoned food technique. Result showed that all the chemicals has excellent inhibition effect on growth of P. aphanidermatum at different levels, where Ellectus super expressed the best results to inhibit fungal growth (4.11mm) at 200 ppm concentration followed by Flint max (5.11mm) and Score (6.66 mm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citrus is the most valuable fruit industry in the world as well as in Pakistan, due to its different nutritional aspects. But this fruit industry is facing huge losses due to various biotic and abiotic diseases. Citrus gummosis caused by water loving fungus Phytophthora species is also one of the major diseases of citrus around the globe. This study was conducted to evaluate five different chemicals (Kasumin, Evito, Cabrio top, Topsin M, Kocide @ 100, 200 and 300 ppm concentrations) and three treatments of plant based nanoparticles (Silver, Copper and their combination @ 0.25, 0.5 and 1% concentrations) against Phytophthora spp. under lab conditions through poisoned food technique. Among fungicides, the least mycelial growth was observed by application of Evito at 300 ppm concentration followed Kasumin and Kocide at same concentration, whereas among nanoparticles combination of Silver and Copper nanoparticles was found most effective against the mycelial growth followed by solo application of silver and copper at 1 % concentration respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red rot of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) caused by Colletotrichum falcatum is considered as the most destructive disease in many sugarcane growing countries. C. falcatum may decrease weight of cane by up to 29% and sugar loss by 31%. In this study, nine commercial fungicide formulations were tested in lab conditions: Shincar exhibited minimum fungal growth (4.13) followed by Nativo (15.62), Amister Top (26.19), Topsin M (37.64), Ridomil Gold (45.19), Allite (52.49), Score (59.44), Antracol (67.71) and Rovral (76.81) as compared to control. In green house Salicylic acid + KH2PO4 exhibited minimum disease incidence (10.40) followed by Salicylic acid spray (13.92) and KH2PO4 spray (20.25) as compared to control. In field Carbendazim spray exhibited minimum disease incidence (10.10) followed by Salicylic acid spray (21.60), carbendazim + Salicylic acid+ KH2PO4 drench (32.17), KH2PO4 spray (43.62), Carbendazim drench (51.19), Salicylic acid drench (58.49), KH2PO4 drench (65.52), Coragen (Chlorantraniliprole) drench (74.297) and micro-nutrients spray (82.854) as compared to control. Under lab conditions, shincar showed best result while in green house Salicylic acid+ KH2PO4 and in field condition carbendazim showed the best results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant-derived nanostructures have revolutionized the arena of nanotechnology and "green" synthesis of nanostructures with strong characteristics is great challenge for researchers. In the present study, CuNPs and AgNPs along with their complex utilizing Moringa oleifera plant extract as reducing and stabilizing agent were synthesized. Different concentrations (0.25, 0.50 and 0.75%) of these nanoparticles were applied using Poisoned food technique to evaluate antifungal activity against Curvularia lunata in vitro, as well as in vivo to check the efficacy of exogenously applied nanoparticles to control against Curvularia leaf spot of brinjal for better outcomes and eco-friendly management. Under in vitro conditions, [Cu-Ag] NPs complex expressed maximum inhibition (13.862) comparatively to CuNPs with growth inhibition (21.809) and AgNPs with minimum growth inhibition (23.315); however, control showed maximum fungal growth (38.647). Under field conditions, spray with [Cu-Ag] NPs complex expressed determined reduction in disease intensity at different days' interval (7, 14, 21) with infection index value (16.183, 13.217 and 10.657) followed by CuNPs with infection index value (27.717, 24.740, 20.907) and AgNPs with infection index value (33.147, 29.153, 25.743) as compared with control showed maximum fungal growth with infection index value (35.243, 38.393, 40.750). The present research aimed to highlight the biosynthesized CuNPs and AgNPs as biological control against Curvularia leaf spot of brinjal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato production is significantly harmed by the interruption of fungal diseases. Alternaria solani is responsible for substantial yield losses in tomato crops grown in greenhouse and field conditions. Silver based green synthesized nanomaterials (AgNMs) are reported as best performers in various agricultural applications and proposed to be best alternatives in plant disease management. Two green based AgNMs at three different concentrations were evaluated against the incidence of A. solani and on the components of antioxidant defense system of tomato plants. Results of current study indicated that the application of green based AgNMs reduced the disease incidence of A. solani with significant increase in tomato production, ascorbate (ascorbic acid), photosynthetic pigments, flavonoids and antioxidant activity in the leaves of inoculated plants as compared to healthy ones. It is concluded that the application of green based AgNMs may be a viable approach for the management of early blight of tomatoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate classification of gases/odors is a classical challenge. Gas sensor arrays are generally used to enhance classification accuracy as they generate unique signature patterns for each individual gas/odor sample. However, instead of using these raw signatures directly, analyzing these signatures in certain hyperspaces also improves classification results. Most of the clusters created using existing transformations and normalization techniques are usually non-spherical and overlapping, leading to ambiguous classification results. In this paper, a new transformation called normalized difference sensor response transformation has been proposed. Here, virtual multi-sensor responses are generated from raw signature responses. These virtual responses show unambiguous association between data belonging to respective gases/odors. In addition, the signatures generated from virtual responses are grossly concentration independent, which further enhances the accuracy of classification. Experiments were conducted by using a thick-film four-element gas sensor array for four hazardous gases viz., acetone, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), ethyl methyl ketone, and xylene. The results show cluster compaction by an average of 94.38% in terms of intra-cluster distance with respect to raw sensor responses. In addition, when compared with existing techniques, only the proposed transformation could generate non-overlapping clusters. Furthermore, minimum inter-cluster separation was 0.80 units. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A Gross morphologic and biometric study was conducted on ovaries of a total 72 female chicks/ growers, 36 each of Kadaknath and White Leghorn (WLH) breeds. The birds were grouped according to age into 6 (I-VI) groups, viz., 1, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks old. The gross observations revealed that the left ovary was elongated triangular with base directed rostrally and conical apex caudally in all the groups of Kadaknath and WLH, except in age group V and VI of WLH. The mean weight of the ovary in age group I was 0.08±0.01g and 0.08±0.18 g, which increased to 0.31±0.04 g and 21.17±2.29 g in Kadaknath and WLH, respectively. The mean length of ovary in Kadaknath was 0.68±0.03 cm in age group I, which increased to 2.02±0.09 cm in age group VI. The mean length of ovary was slightly more in WLH than Kadaknath group I, which became more than twice in age group VI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on Indian wild pig.

The article presents a study that aims to propound the individuality of the vocal signals' acoustic features of dairy buffaloes.

Metallic nanowires (NWs) are the key performers for future micro/nanodevices. The controlled manoeuvring and integration of such nanoscale entities are essential requirements. Presented is a discussion of a fabrication approach that combines chemical etching and ion beam milling to fabricate metallic NWs. The shape modification of the metallic NWs using ion beam irradiation (bending towards the ion beam side) is investigated. The bending effect of the NWs is observed to be instantaneous and permanent. The ion beam-assisted shape manoeuvre of the metallic structures is studied in the light of ion-induced vacancy formation and reconfiguration of the damaged layers. The manipulation method can be used for fabricating structures of desired shapes and aligning structures at a large scale. The controlled bending method of the metallic NWs also provides an understanding of the strain formation process in nanoscale metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood is the virulent pathogen of tomato plants. The artificial inoculation of M. incognita developed a large number of galls and suppressed the tomato plant growth significantly. Three different concentrations of neem extract, furadan and Trichoderma harzianum were evaluated to control the M. incognita. All concentrations proved effective in reducing the disease development in nematode inoculated tomato plants. However, high dose of furadan became phytotoxic and plant growth was checked together with a number of galls. While, higher doses of neem extract and T. harzianum improved the plant growth. The combined applications of neem extract, furadan and T. harzianum were more effective than alone. In combined application also, the higher dose of furadan caused negative effects on plant growth. Present studies showed that incorporation of biocontrol agent like T. harzianum and botanical products such as neem extract against root-knot nematode provided good results and can provide an alternate of chemical pesticides which will be ecofriendly as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted on 12 healthy male buffalo calves weighing between 50 to 60 Kg to evaluate haemato-biochemical alterations after epidural injection of dexmedetomidine alone and in combination with bupivacaine. Haematological examination showed nonsignificant alterations. Biochemical examination showed significant increase in blood glucose, blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine while there was nonsignificant alterations in total protein and alkaline phosphatase. All haemato-biochemical changes were transient and compensatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes a study that analyzes the haemato-biochemistry of the endangered gaur species or Bos gaurus gaurus or Indian Bison. For the study, 18 free-ranging gaurs were immobilized with etorphine HCl and azaperone and were analyzed according to various haematological values, including total erythrocyte count, haemoglobin and monocytes. Also mentioned were the biochemical constituents of blood serum including glucose, uric acid and creatinine.