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Background: Haemodynamic adaptation in pre-eclampsia diverges from that in normotensive pregnancies and may predispose pre-eclamptic women to cardiopulmonary complications during pregnancy, at delivery and in early puerperium. This study Aimed to assess the efficacy of spinal anaesthesia for pregnant patients undergoing cesarean section, comparing the haemodynamic response between preeclampsia and normotensive parturients. Methods: A total of 60 patients were included in the study comprising of 30 patients in each group. The pregnant patients of more than 34 weeks of gestation, ASA Grade 1 and 2 and aged between 18 to 30 years undergoing elective caesarean section were included in the study. Results: There was no statistically significant difference observed with respect to demographic data, however When compared among study groups, it was noticed that mean Systolic BP, mean Diastolic BP and Mean Arterial Pressure was significantly higher in pre-eclampsic group as compared to normotensive group, which is as per the objective of the study. Patients were randomly allocated to one of the following study groups: Group I: Preeclampsic 0.5%, 2.5cc (12.5mg) Hyperbaric Bupivacaine group: 30 patient. Group II: Normotensive 0.5%, 2.5cc (12.5mg) Hyperbaric Bupivacaine group: 30 patients. The mean age of the study group was 25.17+3.61 years (mean+s.d.) and range = 18-30 years in the current study. The post operative ambulation motor block assessment using James Modified Bromage Scale showed mean difference between both groups was significant at 150 min after administration of the drug, with more pre-eclamptic patients being in stage 2. The mean VAS Scores was significantly higher in Pre-eclamptic subjects as compared to Normotensive subjects. We found significant differences in SBP, DBP and MAP at different point of times in both the groups. Conclusion: So in our study we can conclude that comparison of effect of subarachnoid block amongst pre eclampsia and normotensive group on hemodynamic parameters showed mean SBP mean DBP and mean arterial pressure to be significantly higher among pre eclampsia patients from baseline to 150 minutes after injection. However, the heart rate and SpO2 remained comparable in both the groups. The status of maximum block achieved and the mean time taken for it was also similar in both the groups. There was higher proportion of patients in normotensive group reported hypotension, nausea and vomiting.

Testing effort estimation is becoming the most challenging problem because of complicated type of recent software projects. It has been observed that there is a need of accuracy in software testing effort estimation to make efficient delivery of projects. This paper is presenting the process of software testing effort estimation using functional point method and three-point estimation considering the need of hybrid combination of Elman recurrent neural network (ERNN) and Barnacles mating optimizer (BMO). This research is supposed to reach more accurate software testing effort estimations. The working of BMO optimization mechanism that would be used with integration of ERNN has been simulated using MATLAB. In future researches BMO would be considered as novel optimization algorithm that has been proposed to adjust the components of ERNN. This mechanism is performing less and genuine alteration in the value of variables. The proposed model is hybrid and is considering optimized ERNN-dependent model to perform estimation. Such model has been found capable of doing valid prediction in software. The proposed optimization mechanism has been compared to mechanisms which are bioinspired.

In okra, we follow the breeding methodologies of autogamous plants. This includes crossing or controlled hybridization of parents selected based on their better-combining abilities. This is followed by the pedigree selection of the segregating population for the traits of interest like biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and yield. The major breeding objectives are nearly the same across all the okra-growing countries: high yield, tolerance to various pests and diseases, better organoleptic qualities, appealing color and size of the harvestable fruits. Hand pollination is the most commonly used method of hybrid seed production in okra and improving yield and ensuring its sustainability under adverse conditions through resistant hybrids is the major objective of heterosis breeding. Sufficient genetic diversity has been reported among the parents and crosses for selection to be effective for okra hybrid production. Although both additive and dominant gene actions were found regulating the phenotypic expression of various characters, dominant gene action is considered more important. Through intensive research efforts, a large number of varieties and hybrids have been released around the world. Some of these varieties have already made a significant impact in revolutionizing the production of okra worldwide. This chapter summarizes the current status of okra crop production and its future improvement strategies.

Coal fly ash (CFA) and coal-based incense sticks ash (ISA) have several similarities and differences due to the presence of coal as a common component in both of them. CFA are produced from the combustion of pulverized coal during electricity production in the thermal power plants while ISA are produced from the burning of incense sticks at religious places and at houses. A typical black colored Indian, incense sticks are mainly are comprised of coal powder or potassium nitrate, wood chip, fragrance, binder or binding agent, and bamboo sticks. The black colored incense sticks have coal powder or charcoal as a facilitator for smoother burning of incense sticks. The detailed investigation of CFA and ISA by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), electron diffraction spectroscopy (EDS), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analyzer (PSA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the morphological, chemical, and elemental properties. Both the coal based ashes comprises minerals like calcites, silicates, ferrous, alumina, and traces of Mg, Na, K, P, Ti, and numerous toxic heavy metals as confirmed by the XRF, ICP-AES, and EDS. While, microscopy revealed the presence of well-organized spherical shaped particles, namely cenospheres, plerospheres, and ferrospheres of size varying from 0.02 μm to 7 microns in CFA. Whereas, ISA particles are irregular, aggregated, calcium to carbon rich whose size varies from 60 nm to 9 microns and absence of well-organized spherical structures. The well developed and crystalline structure in CFA is due to the controlled combustion parameter in thermal power plants during the burning of coal while incense sticks (IS) burning is under uncontrolled manner. So, FTIR and XRD confirmed that the major portion of fly ash constitutes crystalline minerals whereas ISA have mainly amorphous phase minerals. CFA have ferrospheres of both rough and smooth surfaced, which was absent from the ISA and hence ferrous particles of CFA are of high magnetic strength. The detailed investigation of ashes will lead to the applications of ashes in new fields, which will minimize the solid waste pollution in the environment.

Semiconductor packaging and interconnect technologies today rely more and more on system solutions with increased modularity and functionality. Profound understanding of the heat transfer mechanisms at any steady or transient loading is essential for optimizing the new systems designs. Detailed transient thermal analysis conducted with commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool is time-consuming and laborious especially when the analysis scope ranged from package, to handheld device, to laptop, even a single parameter optimization requires lengthy simulation run time. Reduced system models are simple and efficient for quick thermal analysis especially during early design stages, where board layout, CPU powermap, and system geometry details are not completely available. This quick analysis helps to decide new architecture level changes in the early stage of design.In this paper, zoom-in transient model i.e. dual-region approach is proposed for reducing the computational time with almost same accuracy compared to the full detailed model. In this approach, one region is drawn across the area of interest i.e. die or full package or some part of system and enveloped by another region to calculate the local boundary condition over the surfaces. In the baseline study, the proposed model reduces computational time 70-80% with a marginal accuracy trade-off based on the size of regions across the area of interest. The zoom-in transient model results i.e. temporal plot of junction temperature and burst time are compared with the available different compact approaches including the unit-level and Docea models for the detailed system level transient simulation.

To increase the crop productivity, there are so many factors like soil quality, seeds, climate, water and inputs. Due to continuous growing of crop, the productivity of the soil keeps on decreasing resulting in less productivity overall. Which increases the cost of cultivation resulting in less net return to the farmers. The changing climate conditions had also affected the crop productivity in present scenario. Keeping all this in the view ICAR gave Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s the responsibility to provide the new technologies with different activities like training, FLDs, CFLDs, OFT and different awareness programmes (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna-PMFBY, Rabi and Kharif crop Abhiyan etc.). The scientists from KVKs are going in the farmer’s fields to diagnose the problems and giving them solutionsin simplified manners. KVKs also played a significant roles in preparing and distributing the soil health cards (SHC). The pulses production also became sufficient at the national level with the support of the KVKs. On the basis of all what is mentioned above, we can conclude that KVKs are playing a significant role towards the transfer of technical knowledge.

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.) is continually being improved to increase sustainability of production, enhance nutritional quality, and reduce waste. Development of resistances against abiotic (high temperature and rainfall) and biotic stresses (diseases and insects) is necessary for this purpose. Breeding plays a vital role in addressing these issues through development of superior varieties/hybrids. Globally, more than 20,000 accessions of C-genome taxa of B. oleracea are maintained in over 100 gene banks; European countries host the world’s largest and most diverse collections. The favorable genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) for various traits of economic importance are scattered across cultivated types, breeding lines, and wild populations (i.e., primary, secondary, tertiary, and other gene pools) of B. oleracea, with efforts being made to integrate two- or multitiered breeding approaches for broadening the genetic base and introgressing genes and QTL of resistance, ...

The presence of phytoplasmas and their associated diseases is an emerging threat to vegetable production which leads to severe yield losses worldwide. Phytoplasmas are phloem-limited pleomorphic bacteria lacking the cell wall, mainly transmitted through leafhoppers but also by plant propagation materials and seeds. Phytoplasma diseases of vegetable crops are characterized by symptoms such as little leaves, phyllody, flower virescence, big buds, and witches' brooms. Phytoplasmas enclosed in at least sixteen different ribosomal groups infecting vegetable crops have been reported thus far across the world. The aster yellows phytoplasma group (16SrI) is presently the prevalent, followed by the peanut witches' broom (16SrII). Wide and overlapping crop and non-crop host ranges of phytoplasmas, polyphagous insect vectors, limited availability of resistance sources and unavailability of environmentally safe chemical control measures lead to an arduous effort in the management of these diseases. The most feasible control of vegetable phytoplasma diseases is a consequence of the development and implementation of integrated disease management programs. The availability of molecular tools for phytoplasma identification at the strain level greatly facilitated this kind of approach. It is moreover essential to understand the molecular basis of phytoplasma-vector interaction, epidemiology and other factors involved in disease development in order to reduce the disease outbreaks. Information on the knowledge about the most widespread phytoplasma diseases in vegetable crops is reviewed here in a comprehensive manner.

Kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. virdis L.), a very versatile leafy vegetable, is typically a temperate cole crop and is an excellent source of health benefiting phyto-nutrients. A unique tropical kale genotype, first of its kind in the world, has been identified at ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Christened as ‘VRKALE-1’, it bolts and flowers under North Indian plain conditions (11.8–23.5 °C temperature) and doesn’t require vernalization (low temperature

Actinomycetes, a Gram positive bacteria, well reported as a source of antibiotics, also possess potential to control various plant pathogens, besides acting as plant growth promoting agent. Chemicals in different forms are extensively being used in vegetable farming, adversely affecting the environment and consumer health. Microbial agent like actinomycetes can substantially replace these harmful chemicals, and have now started finding a place as an important input in to farming practices. Only selected vegetable crops belonging to 11 different families have been explored with use of actinomycetes as biocontrol and plant growth promoting agent till now. It provides ample opportunities to vegetable researchers, to further explore with use of this very important group of microorganisms, in order to achieve even higher production level of safe vegetables. Mycostop and Actinovate are two actinomycetes based formulations globally available for use in vegetable farming as a substitute for chemical formulations. Present review article has summarized the literature available on use of actinomycetes in vegetable farming. Existing wide gap in knowledge, and potential thrust areas for future research have also been projected.

Horticultural crops are an important part of agriculture for food as well as nutritional security. However, several pests and diseases along with adverse abiotic environmental factors poses a severe threat to these crops by affecting their quality and productivity. This warrants the effective and accelerated breeding programmes by utilizing innovative biotechnological tools that can tackle aforementioned issues. The recent technique of genome editing by Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR associated 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) has greatly advanced the breeding for crop improvement due to its simplicity and high efficiency over other nucleases such as Zinc Finger Nucleases and Transcription Activator Like Effector Nucleases. CRISPR/Cas9 tool contains a non-specific Cas9 nuclease and a single guide RNA that directs Cas9 to the specific genomic location creating double strand breaks and subsequent repair process creates insertion or deletion mutations. This is currently the widely adopted tool for reverse genetics, and crop improvement in large number of agricultural crops. The use of CRISPR/Cas9 in horticultural crops is limited to few crops due to lack of availability of regeneration protocols and sufficient sequence information in many horticultural crops. In this review, the present status of applicability of CRISPR/Cas9 in horticultural crops was discussed along with the challenges and future potential for possible improvement of these crops for their yield, quality and resistance to biotic and abiotic stress

New cavity configuration namely the axicon based conical resonator (ABCR) was demonstrated in a XeCl excimer laser for achieving high misalignment tolerance, low beam divergence and high pointing stability. Using this resonator configuration misalignment tolerance of about ~10 mrad was achieved, which was ~20 times higher than ~0.25–0.5 mrad normally achieved with conventional plane–plane cavity in case of excimer lasers, which is significant improvement and the beam divergence was also reduced considerably to ~0.8 mrad simultaneously. Shot to shot pointing stability was established using this novel configuration by recording SEM (scanning electron microscope) images of clean micro-holes without heat affected zone, which otherwise is extremely difficult to achieve in excimer lasers. SEM images show large improvement in focusing properties and pointing stability using conical resonator as compared to standard plane–plane cavity normally used in excimer lasers.

Studies related to the effect of pre-ionizer on laser output energy of a repetitively pulsed KrF laser are presented. The dependence of laser output energy, spectral width and beam spot homogeneity on pre-ionization parameters, namely its current and voltage rise time are reported here. Here, effectiveness of pre-ionization is optimized by improving pre-ionization current and rise time of the pump pulse of the automatic UV pre-ionizer KrF laser. It is observed that by increasing pre-ionization current from 6 kA to 10.6 kA, the output energy increases by about 30% (from 100 to 130 mJ). It is also observed that the emission spectral width reduces by almost 60% by increasing the pre-ionization current. Regular homogeneous and well-developed beam spot (nearly Hat-Top profile) was achieved under these optimized conditions.

Development of a discharge-pumped krypton chloride (KrCl) laser operating at 222 nm wavelength is demonstrated. In this paper the design, successful realization and operating characteristics of KrCl excimer laser are reported. The laser is driven by a simple and efficient excitation technique using automatic UV pre-ionization with discharge-pumped self-sustained capacitor–capacitor (C–C) energy transfer circuit. The experimental investigations including output laser energy, temporal pulse parameters, emission spectra and beam profile of the KrCl laser were recorded. For high repetition rate operation, in-built, compact gas circulation system using tangential blower was incorporated. The laser was operated at 25 kV discharge voltage, gas mixture of 5 mbar HCl, 160 mbar kypton and neon as balance with a total gas pressure of ∼2.5 bar. These experiments produced an efficient and reliable output energy of 25 mJ from an active volume of 60 cm3.

Despite the importance of okra, as one of the important vegetable crop, very little attention has been paid to its genetic improvement using advanced biotechnological tools. The exploitation of marker assisted breeding in okra is often limited due to the availability of a few molecular markers, the absence of molecular genetic-map(s), and other molecular tools. Chromosome linkage-groups were not yet constructed for this crop and reports on marker development are very scanty and mostly hovering around cultivar characterization. Besides, very little progress has been observed for transgenic development. However, high throughput biotechnological tools like chromosome engineering, RNA interference (RNAi), marker-assisted recurrent selection (MARS), genome-wide selection (GWS), targeted gene replacement, next generation sequencing (NGS), and nanobiotechnology can provide a rapid way for okra improvement. Further, the etiology of many deadly viral diseases like the yellow vein mosaic virus (YVMV) and okra enation leaf curl virus (OELCV) in okra is broadly indistinct and has been shown to be caused by various begomovirus species. These diseases cause systemic infections and have a very effective mode of transmission; thus, preventing their spread has been very complicated. Biotechnological interventions have the potential to enhance okra production even under different viral-stress conditions. In this background, this review deals with the biotechnological advancements in okra per se along with the begomoviruses infecting okra, and special emphasis has been laid on the exploitation of advanced genomic tools for the development of resistant varieties.

Introduction Supracondylar fractures are the most common elbow injuries in skeletally immature children between 5-10 years of age and cubitus varus deformity is the most common late complication. Cubitus varus or bow elbow or gunstock deformity is the result of malunion occurring as a complication of supracondylar fracture of the humerus. Various type of corrective osteotomies are used of which lateral closed wedge French osteotomy is commomly used which has its own complications like lateral condylar prominence, unsightful scar and limitation of movement. Closed dome osteotomy is a technique which overcomes these complications. This surgery is done with simple readily available instruments in the orthopaedic operation theatre with no special requirements for instrumentation. Aim This study was done to study the results of closed dome osteotomy for correction of cubitus varus deformity, after malunited supracondylar fracture of humerus in children. Materials and methods This study included 25 children of either sex with malunited supracondylar fracture of distal humerus having cubitus varus deformity admitted in orthopaedics department. After appropriate pre operative assessment, closed dome osteotomy was done and post operatively X-ray of patients was taken and carrying angle and Lateral Condylar Prominence Index (LCPI) were calculated. Patients were re-assessed at complete union and results were calculated as per Mitchell and Adams criteria. Results In our study of 25 patients, 68% were males, 32% were females. Majority (84%) of patients were in the age group of 5-10 years. Carrying angle post operatively was 0-10° valgus in 64% of patients while 36% had 10-20° valgus. LCPI changed post operatively ranging from +5.0% to -10.7%, average -2.75%. Decrease in LCPI had better cosmetic appearance. Range of motion post operatively increased or remained same as previous full motion in 84% of the patients. Union occurred in all patients by eight weeks. Few complications were seen. Results according to Mitchell and Adams criteria were excellent in 88% and good in 12%; while no poor results were recorded. Conclusion The results obtained in our study concluded that closed dome osteotomy is safe and effective treatment for the correction of cubitus varus deformity with few minor complications.

In this paper, we demonstrate a long pulse XeCl excimer laser using a novel, simple and easy to assemble auto pre-pulse excitation circuit. The auto pre-pulse excitation scheme involves a single high voltage switch for driving the UV pre-ionizer, pulser and sustainer which are isolated by saturable inductors made of ferrite cores without any additional circuit. The capacitor banks of exciter circuit are charged by single power supply. The experimental scheme demonstrated here, generates coherent optical laser pulses of duration ~60 ns which is an improvement of about 5 times when the laser is operated with conventional exciter. The laser is capable of generating laser pulses of energy 100 mJ reliably from a discharge volume of 75 cc at a repetition rate of 100 Hz. Long excimer pulses are desired for fiber optic beam delivery of high energy without damaging the core material for various applications. Moreover, long pulse allows large number of laser cavity round trips for the oscillating modes. The micro hole generated by focusing the long pulse XeCl laser beam on metal target shows improved characteristics of the output laser beam.

This paper presents an investigation on the effect and optimization of machining process parameters on the Material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) in CNC wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) operations. The cutting of High Chromium High Carbon (HCHC) die steel work piece using CNC WEDM by using Taguchi methodology has been reported. Many experiments were conducted to consider the effect of Current, Voltage, Wire speed and Wire tension on the MRR and SR response. An L9 (3*4) Taguchi standard orthogonal array (OA) is chosen for design of experiments and the main influencing factor are determined for each given machining criteria by using Analysis of variance (ANOVA). We found out the optimal parameter setting for MRR and SR. The analysis of the Taguchi methodology reveals that. In general the Current significantly affect the MRR and SR. Experimental observed values are provided to verify this methodology.

Precise information of geoid undulations is essential for obtaining the orthometric heights from Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements over any region; apart from providing the information of subsurface density distribution. This paper presents computation of geoid undulations over a part of southern Indian region from terrestrial gravity and elevation data using remove–restore technique that involves spherical Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to compute ‘Stokes’ coefficients. Computed geoid undulations are compared with geoid obtained from global geopotential models such as EGM2008 and EIGEN-GRACE02S and measured GPS-levelling records at 67 locations. Statistical analysis of comparison suggests that the computed gravimetric geoid model has a good match with the geoid determined from GPS-levelling with rms of 0.1 m whereas EGM2008 has 0.46 m. The differences of GPS-levelling with EGM2008 at majority of stations fall in the range of ±0.5 m, which indicates that EGM2008 may be used for orthometric height determination with an accuracy of

Patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) developing coronary artery disease following irradiation of thymoma have been reported previously. Incidental preoperative diagnosis of thymoma has also been reported during cardiac surgery in the past. This case report intends to sensitize clinicians to the challenges of a redo mediastinal surgery in a post-coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patient with symptomatic MG and thymoma and to discuss the pros and cons of a simultaneous thymectomy in a patient undergoing cardiac surgery.

Performance of a kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser (KE-CVL) with various stable/unstable “alignment free” CAT-EYE resonator configurations are presented here in this paper. The laser used in the experiment was a 45 mm bore (∼2 l discharge volume) kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser developed in our laboratory and capable of generating maximum power of ∼80 W (at ∼9.8 kHz). The efficiency of the laser was ∼1.4% and beam divergence of ∼3.5 mrad in a plane–plane standard multimode cavity. For the first time performance of unstable CAT-EYE resonator is demonstrated with a CVL/KE-CVL. On using unstable CAT-EYE resonator the divergence of the laser beam reduced to ∼0.22 mrad (∼20-fold reduction as compared to conventional plane–plane cavity), ∼40 W output power and with excellent misalignment tolerance. The laser output power was found to be within ∼5% drift/decline with misalignment angle of about 4 mrad between the mirrors. This is a significant improvement in comparison to standard conventional unstable resonator ( M ∼ 50) CVL where ∼0.5 mrad divergence is achieved with power drift/decline of about 45% at ∼4 mrad misalignment angle. Off-axis unstable CAT-EYE unstable resonator was also demonstrated for the first time with further reduction in beam divergence to ∼0.13 mrad and with output power of ∼28 W. The misalignment tolerance was found to be highest in case of off-axis unstable CAT-EYE resonator with decline/drift in laser power of only ∼10% for misalignment angle as high as ∼8 mrad. Performance with intra-cavity apertures in plane–plane type CAT-EYE resonator for transverse mode control is also presented for the first time in CVLs. It is observed that the laser beam divergence reduces significantly to 1.25 mrad (a factor of 2) on using an aperture of ∼3.5 mm at the CAT-EYE reflector as compared to its normal ( R = F = d ) configuration without aperture. In case of stable CAT-EYE resonator the average beam divergence reduces from 8 mrad to 4 mrad (factor of 2) on using intra-cavity aperture of about 3 mm. It was also observed that high misalignment tolerance was retained on using intra-cavity apertures in almost all the CAT-EYE resonators. Use of intra-cavity mesh was also demonstrated for the first time with stable CAT-EYE resonator for improving the beam focus-ability. Average beam divergence was reduced by a factor of 2.5 (from 8 mrad to 3 mrad) on using intra-cavity mesh. These new configurations in CAT-EYE resonators in KE-CVLs are found to be effective in improving and controlling the laser beam divergence significantly with additional characteristic of high misalignment tolerance.

New resonator cavity configurations, namely, the prism resonator and unstable prism resonator, are demonstrated for the first time in an excimer (XeCl) laser with interesting and novel results. High misalignment tolerance ∼50 mrad is achieved with considerably reduced beam divergence of less than ∼1 mrad without reduction in output power capabilities of the laser. The misalignment tolerance of ∼50 mrad is a dramatic improvement of ∼25 times compared to ∼2 mrad normally observed in standard excimer laser with plane-plane cavity. Increase in depth of focus from 3 mm to 5.5 mm was also achieved in case of prism resonator configuration with an improvement of about 60%. Unstable prism resonator configuration is demonstrated here in this paper with further reduction in beam divergence to about 0.5 mrad using plano-convex lens as output coupler. The misalignment tolerance in case of unstable prism resonator was retained at about 30 mrad which is a high value compared to standard unstable resonators. The output beam spot was completely filled with flat-top profile with prism resonator configurations, which is desired for various material processing applications. Focusing properties and beam divergence in case of prism resonator have been investigated using SEM (scanning electron microscope) images. SEM images of the focused spot size (∼20 μm holes) on metal sheet indicate beam divergence of about 0.05 mrad which is about 1.5 times diffraction limit. Energy contained in this angle is thus sufficient for micro-machining applications. Clean and sharp edges of the micro-holes show high pointing stability with multiple shot exposures. Such characteristics of the excimer laser system will be extremely useful in micro-machining and other field applications.

The present paper discusses a general expression for determining the minimum sample size (plants) for a given number of seeds or vice versa for capturing multiple allelic diversity. The model considers sampling from a large 2 k-ploid population under a broad range of mating systems. Numerous expressions/results developed for germplasm collection/regeneration for diploid populations by earlier workers can be directly deduced from our general expression by assigning appropriate values of the corresponding parameters. A seed factor which influences the plant sample size has also been isolated to aid the collectors in selecting the appropriate combination of number of plants and seeds per plant. When genotypic multiplicity of seeds is taken into consideration, a sample size of even less than 172 plants can conserve diversity of 20 alleles from 50,000 polymorphic loci with a very large probability of conservation (0.9999) in most of the cases.

Monsoon rainfall over Indian subcontinent causes large hydrological changes that deform the earth on varied time scale. The seasonal hydrological mass changes are in the range of 20–50 cm of equivalent water height over southern India, which causes vertical deformation of 1–2 cm. We compare the deformation computed from GRACE mass signal with that of height changes from continuous GPS data from two locations in south India and find that the amplitude and phases of seasonal vertical deformation derived from both (GPS and GRACE) are consistent, indicating that hydrological effects are major cause of periodic deformation in the region. This supports the earlier deduction that GRACE data can be utilized to remove hydrological effects from GPS data. High precision absolute gravity values measured near the GPS location and groundwater levels measured in the boreholes corroborate the space based observations of hydrological changes and vertical deformation. GPS and GRACE data also indicate inter-annual variation caused due to rainfall variability, signifying that hydrological effects must be removed before deriving any long term vertical deformation trend.

A novel multiplexed scheme is demonstrated to combine two or more pulsed solid state pulsers of moderate capabilities. Pulse power supply comprising of two solid state pulsers of ∼6 kW rating each in multiplexed mode with common magnetic pulse compression stage was demonstrated and optimized for operating with a wide aperture kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser. Using this new configuration, the multiplexed pulsed power supply was capable of operating efficiently at net repetition-rate of ∼13 kHz, 12 kW (wall plug average power), 18–20 kV discharge voltage and pulse rise-time of ∼80 ns. The laser under multiplexed configuration delivered un-interrupted output power of about ∼80 W with scope of further increase in laser output power in excess of 100 W.

One of the most important objectives of the goals of Millennium Development Goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Sufficient nourishment for the whole population of the world is one of the challenges of the present era. According to an estimate plant parasitic nematodes are causing much more damage annually compared to insect pests. A crop yield loss due to these tiny unseen pests in various countries is enormous. They caused projected yield loss of 12.3% ($157 billion dollars) worldwide. Out of which $40.3 million is reported from India. Farmers/growers identified insect pests, and other constraints as production problems but overlooked plant parasitic nematodes. Nematode diseases are difficult to control because of their hidden nature and hence, more often overlooked. Plant parasitic nematodes not only cause damage individually but form disease-complexes with other micro-organism and increased the crop loss. Also the symptoms of nematode damage are not specific, resemble with the symptoms of other pathogens and abiotic stresses such as water and mineral deficiency. Future agricultural growth must come from productivity growth to address the persistent problems of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Recommended measures against nematode diseases include use of clean nematode free planting material, resistant varieties, and crop rotations to suppress nematode infestation. Integrated nematode management can be promoted through farmers-nematologists interactions, local production of bio-control agents and strict chemical pesticide regulations. Farmer's/grower's awareness and skills are equally important in minimizing nematode infestation and yield losses, to sustain the agriculture production.

Large-bore kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser (CVL) based on new thermal assembly consisting of different density zones of insulation material (alumina fiber) around the discharge tube is demonstrated for the first time with efficiency etaor = 1% at extremely low specific input power (SIP) ofor = 1 kW/l. As a result of this longitudinal profiling of the insulation material, efficiency of approximately 1.2% was achieved at lowest SIP of approximately 0.75 kW/l. Net reduction in the input power of approximately 1 kW was observed on using this thermal assembly as compared to nonprofiled thermal assembly. These results show significant improvement (25%-30%) at low input requirements of the laser on using new thermal assembly around the discharge tube with overall electro-optical efficiency etaor = 1%. Maximum laser power achieved from the laser was approximately 78 W at approximately 9.8 kHz rep rate with efficiency of approximately 1.4%. This large-bore CVL is also capable of operating efficiently (eta approximately 1%) at high rep rate of -17 kHz with maximum laser power of approximately 50 W. Performance of the laser under various operating conditions is also presented in this short paper.

Evidence of Economic Heterosis and Genetic Control of Fruit Yield and Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus Disease Severity Traits of Okra) Ten diverse genotypes of cultivated and wild species were crossed in half diallel fashion to produce 45 F1 hybrids to determine mode of gene action, extent of economic heterosis and dominance effect, and to estimate combining ability for eight quantitative traits. Predictability ratio revealed overwhelming response of non-additive gene action for controlling fruit length, number of fruits per plant, and fruit yield per plant; additive gene effects for days to 50% flowering, while both additive and non-additive genetic control for node number at first flowering, fruit weight, fruit girth, and PDI of YVMV disease. Appropriate breeding strategies for improvement of studied traits are highlighted here. Significant standard heterosis over two commercial hybrids, Shakti and Abantika was comparatively lower in magnitude for fruit yield per plant (4.62 % and 17.59 %, respectively) and higher in magnitude for PDI of YVMV disease (-71.28 % and -72.28 %, respectively). Partial- to overdominance effects were involved in the inheritance of the studied traits. BCO-1 and 11/RES-6 were identified as potential donors for future use. The study could able to identify an outstanding hybrid (BCO-1 × Arka Anamika) having high tolerance both under field and artificial conditions. This hybrid would definitely make a room in okra growing zones of the tropics after critical testing..

A copper vapor laser based on the use of copper chloride and silver chloride mixture embedded inside the laser head thermal insulation is successfully demonstrated. The use of external HCl generator cell containing zirconium chloride normally used for its kinetically enhanced mode of operation is completely eliminated. With this new configuration laser power of ~70 W was achieved from a wide aperture ~47-50 mm bore discharge tube with input power of ~5 kW and overall high efficiency of ~1.4% without external supply of HCl vapors to the laser head. In a typical operational cycle the laser initially operates as low temperature CuCl laser with startup time of few minutes and output power of ~10 W during low tube temperature range of ~300-500 °C. Thereafter, the laser transforms itself into efficient kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser (CVL) at high temperature range of ~1200-1600 °C with maximum laser output power of ~70 W. This dual mode of operation observed in a single CVL system is unique and has not been reported so far in any high temperature copper vapor laser. New resonator configurations, namely, the prism resonator in stable and unstable form are successfully demonstrated for the first time in a copper vapor laser to achieve low divergence beam with dramatic increase in misalignment tolerance to ~25 mrad, which is an improvement of about ~50 times compared to standard CVLs with conventional spherical or plane-plane resonators. With these new resonator configurations the CVL functions almost as an "alignment free laser" system with significantly reduced beam divergence of ~0.2 mrad and high optical extraction efficiency of ~70%-80%.

We report for the first time the performance of axicon based conical resonators (ABCRs) in a copper vapor laser, with novel results. The unstable conical resonator comprising of conical mirror (reflecting axicon) with axicon angle approximately pi/18, cone angle approximately 160 degrees, and a convex mirror of 60 cm radius of curvature was effective in reducing the average beam divergence to approximately 0.15 mrad (approximately 25 fold reduction compared to standard multimode plane-plane cavity) with output power of approximately 31 W. Extraction efficiency of approximately 50%-60% and beam divergence of1 mrad was achieved in other stable ABCR configurations using flat and concave mirrors with the axicon. This is a significant improvement compared to 4-5 mrad normally observed in conventional stable resonators in copper vapor lasers. The conical resonators with copper vapor laser provide high misalignment tolerance beta approximately 4-5 mrad where beta is the tilt angle of the conical mirror from optimum position responsible for approximately 20% decline in laser power. The depth of focus d was approximately three times larger in case of conical resonator as compared to that of standard spherical unstable resonator under similar beam divergence and focusing conditions.

A simple, compact, 60W second generation kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser (KE-CVL) optimized at repetition rate of ∼10kHz is demonstrated using a 25mm bore and a 1m length discharge tube with reduced thermal insulation. Recrystallized alumina tube (45mm bore) is used as an outer enclosure to contain a discharge tube and a thin layer of alumina fibrous thermal insulation for achieving compactness, ruggedness, and reliability in the KE-CVL. Double thyratron pulse modulator has been used for minimizing the switching stresses in the discharge circuit without using snubber circuit and magnetic assist. Specific output power of ∼122W∕liter was achieved with input power of ∼4.5kW and moderate charging voltage of ∼13.5kV (dc supply voltage ∼6.75kV). Specific output energy of ∼12mJ∕cm3 (at 10kHz repetition rate) was achieved as compared to ∼8mJ∕cm3 (at 25kHz) in a 25mm bore KE-CVLs reported previously. The design modifications and KE effects combined are the main reasons for many-fold increase in total outpu...

A wide aperture kinetically enhanced copper vapor laser consisting of a ∼47mm bore and 1450mm length discharge tube is demonstrated with moderate input power of ∼5kW, and overall efficiency of ∼1.45%. The laser pulse durations were observed to be ∼60ns full width at half maximum. An increase in output power from 17to73W at ∼9.4kHz (a factor of ∼4.3) has been achieved due to kinetic enhancement effects in this laser. Output laser pulse shape monitoring was used for optimization of maximum output power from the laser.