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In this paper, the climate change scenarios of A2 and B2 for 2070-2100 time scale (denoted as 2080) for several key locations of India and its impact on rice and wheat crops based on regional climate model (PRECIS) were described. The PRECIS projects an increase in temperature over most parts of India especially in the IGP (Indo-Gangetic Plains), the region that presently experiences relatively low temperatures. Extreme high temperature episodes and rainfall intensity days are projected to become more frequent and the monsoon rainfall is also projected to increase. Rabi (mid Nov-March) season is likely to experience higher increase in temperature which could impact and hence become threat to the crops which really require low temperature for their growth. Climatic variability is also projected to increase in both A2 and B2 scenarios. All these projected changes are likely to reduce the wheat and rice yields in Indo-Gangetic plains of India. It is likely that there will be more number of years with low yields occurs towards the end of the century. Such yield reductions in rice and wheat crops due to climate change are mediated through reduction in crop duration, grain number and grain filling duration. The yield loss will be more in A2 scenario compared to B2. These quantitative estimates still have uncertainties associated with them, largely due to uncertainties in climate change projections, future technology growth, availability of inputs such as water for irrigation, changes in crop management and genotype. These projections nevertheless provide a direction of likely change in crop productivity in future climate change scenarios.

A field experiment was conducted inside a temperature gradient tunnel (TGT) at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during rabi 2014-15 to quantify the impacts of elevated temperature on thermal requirement, growth and yield of wheat crop. Wheat crop was subjected to five temperature treatments, i.e. +0ºC (representing ambient condition), +0.9ºC, +2.5ºC, +2.8ºC and +3.5ºC.Temperature elevation of 3.5°C increased accumulated growing degree days (GDD) and photo-thermal unit (PTU), thereby hastening maturity of the crop. Leaf area index (LAI) of the crop was affected most by the high temperature at the anthesis stage. Temperature elevation by 2.5°C and above significantly reduced the LAI of wheat. Grain weight decreased by 17.1%, while the straw weight reduced by 10.5% with temperature elevation of 3.5°C. Temperature elevation by 2.5°C and above significantly reduced the straw weight, but grain weight of wheat got significantly reduced even with 0.9°C elevated temperature. Reduced number of spikes per/m2 and number of grains/spike decreased grain yield. In fact, the increase in the spikelet sterility contributed towards the grain yield reduction. The information generated from this study will help in developing the appropriate management practices for production of wheat crop.

Objectives Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. This study describes a real-world scenario of VTE presenting to a tertiary care hospital in India. Methods All patients presenting with acute VTE or associated complications from January 2017 to January 2020 were included in the study. Results A total of 330 patient admissions related to VTE were included over 3 years, of which 303 had an acute episode of VTE. The median age was 50 years (IQR 38–64); 30% of patients were younger than 40 years of age. Only 24% of patients had provoked VTE with recent surgery (56%) and malignancy (16%) being the commonest risk factors. VTE manifested as isolated DVT (56%), isolated pulmonary embolism (PE; 19.1%), combined DVT/PE (22.4%), and upper limb DVT (2.3%). Patients with PE (n = 126) were classified as low-risk (15%), intermediate-risk (55%) and high-risk (29%). Reperfusion therapy was performed for 15.7% of patients with intermediate-risk and 75.6% with high-risk PE. In-hospital mortality for the entire cohort was 8.9%; 35% for high-risk PE and 11% for intermediate-risk PE. On multivariate analysis, the presence of active malignancy (OR = 5.8; 95% CI: 1.1–30.8, p = 0.038) and high-risk PE (OR = 4.8; 95% CI: 1.6–14.9, p = 0.006) were found to be independent predictors of mortality. Conclusion Our data provides real-world perspectives on the demographic sand management of patients presenting with acute VTE in a referral hospital setting. We observed relatively high mortality for intermediate-risk PE, necessitating better subclassification of this group to identify candidates for more aggressive approaches.

Bonding characteristics of the β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloy have been assessed from red luminescence and x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). Red luminescence, known as R1 and R2 lines, originates from crystal field split d-levels of unintentionally present Cr3+ ions in the β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloy, is found to blueshift with Al composition. This indicates that the nephelauxetic effect in β-Ga2O3 materials decreases with Al substitution, which results to a decrease in the covalency of the β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloy. The XANES experiments at the oxygen K-absorption edge provide clear evidence of the decrease in the covalency of the alloy, where an absorption peak representing the covalency in the β-Ga2O3 material is found to decrease with an increase in the Al composition. Furthermore, the nature of the observed red luminescence for the β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloy is determined to be excitonic recombination. Our results further confirm the fact that the red luminescence from Cr3+ ions is an excellent local probe to assess the bonding characteristic of the host material.

The paper presents an overview of the historical background of higher education (HE) in India, changing policies for improving the higher education system and the challenges. The paper provides reasons for deficiencies in higher education in India and discusses few policies and commissions which were set up for improvement at the higher level of education. Further, it elaborates the recent developments in higher education and provides some suggestions for revamping the higher education system in India.

Crystallographic and electronic structures of phase pure ternary solid solutions of Ni1−xCoxO (x = 0 to 1) have been studied using XRD, EXAFS and XAS measurements. The lattice parameter of the cubic rock-salt (RS) Ni1−xCoxO solid solutions increases linearly with increasing Co content and follows Vegard's law, in the complete composition range. A linear increase in the bond lengths (Ni/Co–O, Ni–Ni and Ni–Co) with “x”, closely following the bond lengths determined from virtual crystal approximation (VCA), is observed, which implies that there is only a minimal local distortion of the lattice in the mixed crystal. The optical gap of the ternary solid solution determined from diffuse reflectivity measurements shows neither a linear variation with Co composition nor bowing, as observed in many ternary semiconductors. This trend in the variation of optical gaps is explained by probing the conduction band using XAS at the O K-edge. We have observed that the variation in the onset energy of the conduction band edge with “x” is very similar to the variation in the optical gap with “x”, thus clearly indicating the dominant role played by the conduction band position in determining the optical gap. The variation in the intensities of the pre-edge peak in the XANES spectra measured at Ni and Co K-edges, and the L1/2 peak in XAS spectra measured at Ni and Co L-edges, is found to depend on the unoccupied O 2p-metal-(Ni/Co) 3d hybridized states and the bond lengths.

Raman spectroscopy has been used to investigate the phonon mode behavior of a β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloy up to Al compositions of x = 0.474. The alloy displays a mixed-mode behavior, where low frequency (100–200 cm−1) modes corresponding to translation and libration of (Ga1O4) tetrahedral and (Ga2O6) octahedral chains and high frequency (500–800 cm−1) modes related to stretching and bending of (Ga1O4) tetrahedral chains show a monotonic behavior throughout the studied composition range, and display one-mode behavior. On the other hand, medium frequency (300–500 cm−1) phonon modes related to the deformation of (Ga2O6) octahedra and (Ga1O4) tetrahedra chains show sudden change such as the appearance (disappearance) of new (existing) phonon modes corresponding to Al–O (Ga–O) sublattices with Al substitution, and they display a two-mode behavior. The existence of two sublattices is further supported by the observation of preferential occupation of the Al atom at the octahedral atomic site in comparison to the tetrahedral atomic site. The observation of phonon modes related to translation and libration of (Ga1O4) tetrahedral and (Ga2O6) octahedral chains up to the Al composition of x = 0.474 clearly indicates that the long-range periodicity of the monoclinic lattice is maintained throughout the investigated Al composition range. Our results provide an insight into the phonon mode behavior of β-(AlxGa1−x)2O3 alloys, which is necessary to have a better understanding of their physical properties.

Newcastle disease (ND) and avian influenza (AI) are economically important infectious diseases of poultry. Sometime, concomitant secondary viral/or bacterial infections significantly alters the pathobiology of ND and AI in poultry. As of now, the disease patterns and dynamics of co-infections caused by ND virus (NDV, genotype XIII) and Low Pathogenic AI viruses (LPAI, H9N2) are explicitly elusive. Thus, we examined the clinicopathological disease conditions due to these two economically important viruses to understand the complex disease outcomes by virus–virus interactions in vaccinated flocks. The findings of clinicopathological and molecular investigations carried on 37 commercial ND vaccinated poultry flocks revealed simultaneous circulation of NDV and AIV in same flock/bird. Further, molecular characterization of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes confirmed that all the identified AIVs were of low pathogenicity H9N2 subtype and fusion (F) gene analysis of detected NDVs belong to NDV class II, genotype XIII, a virulent type. The NDV and H9N2 alone or co-infected flocks (NDV + LPAI) exhibit clinical signs and lesions similar to that of virulent NDV except the degree of severity, which was higher in H9N2–NDV co-infected flocks. Additionally, avian pathogenic E. coli and mycoplasma infections were detected in majority of the ailing/dead birds from the co-infected flocks during progression of the clinical disease. Overall, the findings highlight the multi-factorial disease complexity in commercial poultry and suggest the importance of NDV genotype XIII in intensifying the clinical disease in vaccinated birds.

Increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration has fertilization effect on crops if nutrient supply remains adequate. Response of cereals and legumes to increased CO2 concentration might differ due to the nitrogen fixing ability of leguminous crops. Considering the importance of differential response of cereal and legumes under elevated CO2 concentration, a field study was conducted to compare the effect of elevated CO2 on yield and plant nitrogen uptake in wheat and chickpea crop. Elevated CO2 level (550 ppm) increased yield by 15.1% and 16.7% over ambient in wheat and by 21.1% and 21.9% in chickpea (p ≤ 0.05) during the first and second years of the study. Nitrogen content in wheat grains decreased under elevated CO2 concentration. Chickpea, being a leguminous crop, showed no change in grain N content. However, higher biomass and grain yield resulted in higher N uptake in both the crops under elevated CO2 level. Under elevated CO2 concentration more partitioning of biomass toward seeds lead to higher seed N partitioning in chickpea. The study showed that although growth and yield of crops might increase in high CO2 condition, nitrogen concentration in grains and soil available N status might decrease in cereals like wheat. But chickpea might not get affected due to their ability to fix atmospheric N2.

Terminal heat stress leads to significant yield reduction in wheat. Adaptation strategies to combat this could be either growing heat-tolerant cultivars or adjustments in sowing date. A study was conducted for 2 years to understand the impact of terminal heat stress on wheat using three different wheat cultivars (HD 2932, WR 544 and HD 2967) and three sowing date, viz. D1 (second week of November), D2 (first week of December) and D3 (last week of December) at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India. Results revealed that timely sown crop (D1) showed significantly higher number of tillers m−2 (450), plant height (93.5 cm), 1000-grain weight (38 g), grain yield (6.3 t ha−1) and harvest index (0.44) compared with D2 and D3. Yield loss occurred by 70, 29 and 77 kg ha−1 per day due to delay in sowing beyond D1 in varieties, viz. ‘HD 2932,’ ‘WR 544’ and ‘HD 2967,’ respectively. The late-sown crop resulted lower yield, which encountered higher temperature in its terminal growth stages. Among three varieties used, ‘WR 544’ had lesser decline in growth and yield than other two varieties due to late sowing. It implied that ‘WR 544’ had thermo-tolerant characteristics. Higher yield in wheat requires both heat-tolerant cultivars and better agronomic strategy under terminal heat stress condition. This study concluded that varietal selection and adjustment in sowing date could be the appropriate adaptation strategies under changing climate especially the terminal heat stress.

Heat stress (HS) drastically reduces the yield and quality of wheat grains. High temperature during critical stages (pollination and grain-filling) causes improper fertilization and formation of defragmented granules and shriveled seeds. Hormones and signaling molecules modulates the tolerance potential of the plants under stress. Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule involved in triggering diverse physiological and biochemical processes under adverse conditions. Here, we studied the effect of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (150 μM set based on pilot experiment) on heat stress-tolerance and grain quality related traits of two contrasting wheat cultivars Raj3765 as thermotolerant and HD2932 as thermosusceptible under differential HS (T1 - 30 °C, 1 h; T2 - 38 °C, 1 h), as compared to control (22 ± 2 °C) at different stages of growth. The expression of many important stress-associated genes (previously identified through Transcriptome sequencing) was observed upregulated in response to NO and HS; small HSP17 showed maximum fold increase in Raj3765. Similarly, the networks of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, and GPX) were observed triggered in response to NO, HS and NO + HS treatment in Raj3765 than HD2932. The accumulation of proline and free amino acid in cytoplasm were also reported higher under NO and HS treatment respectively in Raj3765, as compared to HD2932. Grain quality related traits like carbohydrate (starch) and proteins (gliadin) were observed higher in response to NO under HS in Raj3765. Heat stress was observed to increase the activities of α/β amylases in developing grains involved in degrading the starch quality. NO was observed to decrease the amylolytic activity in both the cultivars; very low amylolytic activity was observed in thermotolerant, as compared to thermosusceptible cultivars. Exogenous application of NO (150 μM) at different stages can be used as inexpensive technology for mitigating the problem of terminal HS in wheat – a farmer friendly approach for maintaining the quality of grains under present threat of global climate change.

The interface at NiO and GaAs heterojunction is found to have claudetite phase of As2O3 with monoclinic structure, which increases with oxygen (O2) partial pressure. It is determined that rough interface, caused by recrystallization of GaAs surface along [111] direction, is not the main governing factor for the observed change in growth direction for NiO epitaxial layer from [111] to [001] direction with increase in O2 partial pressure. The out-of-plane and in-plane epitaxial relationships of [111] oriented NiO layer with respect to substrate are [111]NiO || [001]GaAs, [-1-12]NiO || [-1-10]GaAs and [-110]NiO || [-110]GaAs. The interfacial structure of NiO/GaAs heterojunction thus determined can have implications into the characteristics of optoelectronic devices based on this heterojunction.

Crystallographic and electronic structures of phase pure ternary solid solutions of Ni

The reduction in size through top-down and bottom-up approaches causes difference in the physical, chemical, and biological properties as compared to original particle.

Oriented thin films of β-(Ga1−x Fe x )2O3 were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on c-Al2O3 and GaN substrates. The itinerant character of the Fe 3d states forming the top of the valence band (VB) of the Fe-substituted β-Ga2O3 thin films has been determined from resonant photoelectron spectroscopy. Further, the admixture of the itinerant and localized characters of these Fe 3d states has been obtained for larger binding energies; i.e. deeper in the VB. The bottom of the conduction band (CB) for β-(Ga1−x Fe x )2O3 has been also found to have strongly hybridized states involving Fe 3d and O 2p states compared to that of Ga 4s in pristine β-Ga2O3. This suggests that β-Ga2O3 transforms from a band-like system to a charge-transfer system with Fe substitution. Furthermore, the bandgap red shifts with Fe composition, which has been found to be primarily related to the shift of the CB edge.

The present investigation was performed to assess genetic divergence and heterosis prediction in hybrid parents of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R Br.] using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Using 56 SSR loci, 412 alleles were detected in 147 lines with an average of 7.36 alleles per locus, and 75,007 SNP loci were detected in 117 lines. Both SSR- and SNP-based clustering and structure analysis partitioned all maintainer (B) and restorer (R) lines into two clear-cut separate groups, indicating the existence of two diverse gene pools, each representing the seed and restorer parents in pearl millet. Results of analysis of molecular variance and principal coordinate analysis also showed significant diversity between B and R lines. The correlation between parental genetic distances estimated based on SSRs and SNPs was high and significant (r = 0.58, p < .01). Similar clustering pattern of hybrid parents was observed with both marker systems, although the cost of genotyping was 41% less with SNPs than with SSRs, and the ratio of loci detected with SNPs was much higher (1:364 SSR/SNP), hence the use of SNPs is indicated over SSRs for germplasm characterization. A set of 136 hybrids (including all B × B, R × R, and B × R crosses) generated crossing 17 hybrid parents (nine B lines and eight R lines) in half diallel (without reciprocal) fashion, and evaluation at two locations revealed that the correlation between genetic distance and better parent heterosis for grain yield was moderate, positive, and significant (with SSR, 0.33, p < .01; with SNP, 0.35, p < .01), hence both SSRs and SNPs were found comparable in results for heterosis prediction.

The epitaxial NiO layers deposited with higher fluence values are found to be strained, and the strain increases with the fluence values. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) profile taken from the synchrotron beam shows the presence of relaxed grains of NiO in addition to the strained grains, where the fraction of relaxed grains gradually increases with the fluence values. The presence of Pendellosung fringes in the XRD profile for the layers deposited at lower fluence values confirms good interfacial and crystalline qualities. As the fluence value is increased, the Pendellosung fringes start merging indicating relatively poor interfacial and crystalline qualities. The NiO layers are of epitaxial nature and grown along [111] direction with two domain structures that are in-plane rotated by 60° with respect to each other. The analysis of local structures from extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements also indicates that the NiO lattice is strained at higher fluence values. The Ni–O bond distance does not change with the fluence values; however, Ni–Ni bond distance increases with the fluence values in corroboration with XRD results. The surface topography shows island growth of NiO at lower fluence values giving larger roughness, and these islands start merging with an increase in the fluence values leading to relatively smoother layers.

Aim: To determine the severity and distribution of occlusal tooth wear among young North Indian adults and to evaluate the correlation of occlusal tooth wear with bite force. Materials and Methods: A total of 164 subjects were enrolled in the present study. Inclusion criteria included subjects with age range of 25-40 years having a full complement of natural dentition (excluding third molars), with no history of orthodontic treatment, FPD and trauma. Maxillary and mandibular casts of each subject were taken. Tooth wear score of anterior and posterior teeth of both the arches was calculated using a five-point (0 to 4) ordinal scoring system. The calculated tooth wear scores were then compared with data concerning age, sex, number of daily meals, vegetarian/non-vegetarian diet, Group function/Canine guided occlusion and bite force. Nonparametric (Mann-Whitney) test was used to determine the relationship between various factors and occlusal tooth wear. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between tooth wear and bite force. Results: After applying statistical analysis to the data collected, total tooth wear score of the whole sample was 30.07 ± 6.39. Anterior teeth had significantly higher wear score than posteriors (P < 0.01). Males showed significantly higher (P < 0.001) tooth wear in both arches factors such as bite force and age showed significant correlation with tooth wear (P=0.000), however, the number of meals taken per day did not show any significant correlation. Higher tooth wear loss was seen in non vegetarian dietary pattern but it was statistically insignificant. It was also found that Group function occlusion showed significantly higher mean tooth wear loss 45.76 ± 9.19 as compared to Canine guided occlusion 26.37 ± 10.68 (P=0.000).

Heat stress has an adverse effect on the quality and quantity of agriculturally important crops, especially wheat. The tolerance mechanism has not been explored much in wheat and very few genes/ TFs responsive to heat stress is available on public domain. Here, we identified, cloned and characterized a putative TaHSFA6e TF gene of 1.3 kb from wheat cv. HD2985. We observed an ORF of 368 aa with Hsf DNA binding signature domain in the amino acid sequence. Single copy number of TaHSFA6e was observed integrated in the genome of wheat. Expression analysis of TaHSFA6e under differential HS showed maximum transcripts in wheat cv. Halna (thermotolerant) in response to 38 °C for 2 h during pollination and grain-filling stages, as compared to PBW343, HD2329 and HD2985. Putative target genes of TaHSFA6e (HSP17, HSP70 and HSP90) showed upregulation in response to differential HS (30 & 38 °C, 2 h) during pollination and grain-filling stages. Small HSP17 was observed most triggered in Halna under HS. We observed increase in the catalase, guaiacol peroxidase, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and decrease in the lipid peroxidation in thermotolerant cvs. (Halna, HD2985), as compared to thermosusceptible (PBW343, HD2329) under differential HS. Multiple stresses (heat - 38 °C, 2 h, and drought - 100 mL of 20% polyethylene Glycol 6000) during seedling stage of wheat showed positive correlation between the expression of TaHSFA6e, putative targets (HSP70, HSP90, HSP17) and TAC. Halna (thermotolerant) performed better, as compared to other contrasting cvs. TaHSFA6e TF can be used as promising candidate gene for manipulating the heat stress-tolerance network.

Marek's disease (MD) and lymphoid leucosis (LL) are the major diseases causing lymphoid tumors in chickens accounting for high economical losses. Gross examination could not yield definite diagnosis owing to their similar presentation of lesions. Thus present work was aimed for diagnosis and differentiation of MD and LL by utilizing simple cytology and novel immunocytology techniques. Cytological examination was carried out on slides with tumor touch imprints stained by simple Giemsa staining. The diagnosis was mainly achieved based on morphology of cell population. In the present study, out of a total of 595 cases examined, 502 cases had pleomorphic lymphocytic cell population suggestive of MD and 53 cases had uniform lymphocytic/lymphoblast cell population suggestive of LL, while the rest 40 cases remained inconclusive. A definitive diagnosis was achieved after performing immunocytology using specific antibodies that revealed 518 cases had reactivity for Meq oncoprotein specific for MD and 77 cases showed immunoreactivity for IgM in transformed B-cells confirming LL. The technique of immunocytology which has been useful for detecting human viral pathogens and MD in poultry has been applied for the first time as a novel, simple, rapid and inexpensive technique that could be used as an alternate test to effectively detect and differentiate MD and LL in poultry.

A detailed description of the assemblage of Miogypsina (Lepidosemicyclina) bifida Rutten from the sub-surface Mumbai Offshore is presented by carrying out biometric studies on nineteen equatorial sections. The mean V is 47.2 and the mean DI 212μm. The mean DII is 272.35μm and the mean e 341.76μm. The larger spire has notational value in the range 4.1/2 to 7.1/2 and the smaller spire 1.1/2 to 3.1/2. The species is recorded to be occurring below M. (L.) excentrica Tan Sin Hok. In terms of the planktonic zonation, it pertains to the planktonic Zone N6 (Burdigalian). This is the first detailed study of M.(L.) bifida Rutten from India. The foraminifer, M.(L.) bifida Rutten, recorded from the L-III, a major producing reservoir of Mumbai High field is found in association with Lepidocyclina sp., Sphaerogypsina sp., Operculina sp., Amphistegina sp., Elphidium sp. and Cibicides sp. along with Bryozoa. The assemblage, recorded from limestone, indicates a shallow inner neritic paleoenvironment (bathymetry 15-20 meters) of deposition.

We have investigated the non-commutativity of the band offset in RF magnetron sputter deposited all oxide epitaxial α-Cr2O3/β-Ga2O3 heterojunction (HJ). The core-level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique has been employed to probe the electronic structure of the interface formed between α-Cr2O3 and β-Ga2O3. Valence and conduction band offsets of 2.6 ± 0.2 and 0.9 ± 0.2 eV, respectively, for α-Cr2O3/β-Ga2O3 HJ have been determined from Kraut's method. These values are different from those reported for β-Ga2O3/α-Cr2O3 HJ, thus indicating that the α-Cr2O3/β-Ga2O3 HJ does not follow the band commutativity with respect to the growth sequence of the constituting layers forming the HJ. Furthermore, the band alignment at α-Cr2O3/β-Ga2O3 HJ is still type-II like β-Ga2O3/α-Cr2O3 HJ but with lower band offset values. Therefore, this HJ would also be able to confine the electrons and holes in β-Ga2O3 and α-Cr2O3 layers, respectively, with lower turn on voltage.

Lattice parameter of NiO layers deposited using pulsed laser deposition is determined accurately using three parallel Bragg reflections. A small decrease in out of plane lattice parameter is found as O 2 partial pressure is increased, which is attributed to the lattice contraction due to Ni vacancies. The NiO layers are found to be oriented along (111) direction on (0001) oriented Al 2 O 3 substrate. The presence of Pendellosung oscillations indicates high crystalline and interfacial qualities of NiO layers, which gradually degrade with increase in O 2 partial pressure. The NiO layer thickness determined from both x-ray diffraction and x-ray reflectivity show similar trend with O 2 partial pressure. The optical band gap does not vary much due to the presence of very small compressive strain.

Bond length behavior for Zn substituted NiO is determined through extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements performed at ambient conditions. We report bond length value of 2.11±0.01 A for Zn-O of rock salt (RS) symmetry, when Zn is doped in RS NiO. Bond length for Zn substituted NiO RS ternary solid solutions shows relaxed behavior for Zn–O bond, while it shows un-relaxed behavior for Ni–O bond. These observations are further supported by first-principles calculations. It is also inferred that Zn sublattice remains nearly unchanged with increase in lattice parameter. On the other hand, Ni sublattice dilates for Zn compositions up to 20% to accommodate increase in the lattice parameter. However, for Zn compositions more than 20%, it does not further dilate. It has been attributed to the large disorder that is incorporated in the system at and beyond 20% of Zn incorporation in the cubic RS lattice of ternary solid solutions. For these large percentages of Zn incorporation, the Ni and the Zn atoms re-arrange themselves microscopically about the same nominal bond length rather than systematically increase in magnitude to minimize the energy of the system. This results in an increase in the Debye-Waller factor with increase in the Zn concentration rather than a systematic increase in the bond lengths.

Genetic diversity in the breeding materials is an essential component to improve the efficiency of any crop improvement programme. In present study, 150 seed and restorer parents were evaluated for grain yield and its component traits at two diverse agro-ecologies CCSHAU-Hisar and ICRISAT-Patancheru. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among hybrid parents for all traits. Clustering of hybrid parents clearly partitioned almost all the B- and R-lines into separate groups indicating B- and R-lines to be genetically distant from each other. Further, seed (B-lines) and restorer (R-lines) parents were found distributed in four clusters each, and hybrid parents having same plant type (having similar set of specific traits) were found in same cluster. Significant numbers of hybrid parents having common parent in their pedigrees were found in same cluster. Cluster B-IV of B-lines and cluster R-III of R-lines had higher grain yield and above average performance for other grain linked traits. Grain yield was found to have highly positive significant correlation with all the traits under study for both B- and R-lines, except for effective tillers plant-1. Stover yield followed by panicle girth and panicle length had highest positive direct effect on grain yield.

Newcastle disease (ND) is an economically important viral disease distressing poultry industry across the globe. Herein, we report the clinicopathology of sub-genotype VIIi Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolated from peafowl in chickens. The virus isolate produced systemic infection with prominent tropism in visceral organs in chicken, confirmed on the basis of gross and microscopic lesions, and immunohistochemistry findings. The experimentally infected chickens exhibited 100% mortality with severe hemorrhagic lesions in the proventriculus and intestine, especially marked lymphocytolysis in spleen and bursa. The virus could be re-isolated from the cloacal swabs of infected chickens during 4th to 6th dpi (on 6th dpi all birds died), and all were tested positive in conventional RT-PCR. This is the first report on clinicopathology of NDV isolated from peafowl and/or sub-genotype VIIi NDV in experimentally infected chickens. Explorative epidemiological and molecular studies are suggested to screen wild peafowls and poultry flocks of the country for establishing the occurrence of this sub-genotype and opting for appropriate prevention and control strategies.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM) are one of the major air pollutants emerging out of the industrial development and human activities. Plants exhibit differential sensitivity to SO2 pollution and its effects on plant growth can be both direct and/or indirect. We have earlier reported that a high SO2 stress contributes toward the S-nutrition of crops. The SO2 enriched environment significantly improved the activity of serine transacetylase (SAT) in all the experimental crops, however, the activity of O-acetylserine (thiol) lyase (OAS-TL) was enhanced chiefly in wheat but not in chickpea and barley. Further, the relative tolerance of crops to the particulate and gaseous pollutants was related to a lower level of superoxide and H2O2 radicals and lipid peroxidation and a higher level of antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and peroxidase activity. Relative tolerance of crops to the particulate and gaseous pollutants was related to a lower oxidative stress and a higher anti-oxidative defence that elevated SO2 contributes to S-nutrition of crops however, the threshold value of phyto-toxicity need to be determined across the crops.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM) are one of the major air pollutants emerging out of the industrial development and human activities. Plants exhibit differential sensitivity to SO2 pollution and its affect on plant growth can be both direct and/or indirect. The present study was conducted in controlled tunnels to assess the effect of particulate matter (PM) and SO2 on growth attributes of two cereals (bread and durum wheat and barley) and a legume (chickpea) species. Relative sensitivity of crops to elevated SO2 followed the following order: durum wheat less than bread wheat less than barley less than chickpea. This study clearly shows that the presence of particulate matter in the growing environment severely inhibits crop growth while the SO2 enriched environment promotes plant growth and S uptake across crops and that the tolerant crop species are capable of utilizing SO2 towards the plant S pool.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop is one of the most valuable crops, and further boost in wheat yields is essential to meet the food demand of the emerging world population. It is therefore necessary to know the influence of future climate change on wheat yields. Present investigation was conducted in temperature gradient tunnel (TGTs) to evaluate the effects of elevated temperature, CO2 concentration,weed and their interactions on grain, biological yield and other yield attributes (number of spikes/m2, number of spikelets/spike, number of grains/spike and 1000-grain weight, harvest index) of wheat. Wheat crop was grown in TGT at three different temperature levels, i.e. T1 ambient, T2 ambient+1.5°C, T3 ambient+3°C and two levels of carbon dioxide, i.e. ambient (ACO2) 400 ppm and elevated (ECO2) 550±50 ppm with and without weed interaction.The study revealed that yield and yield attributes of subsequent wheat crop increased due to ECO2. Mean individual effect of ECO2 increased grain yield of wheat by 14% and biological yield by 12% compared to ACO2. On the contrary, the yield was decreased with elevated temperature where a decrease in the grain yield from ˗12% to ˗20% and biological yield from ˗11% to ˗18% was observed at 1.5°C and 3°C, respectively. Similarly the interaction of weeds in wheat crop, reduced the grain yield by 8% and biological yield of wheat by 6%, irrespective of CO2 and temperature levels.The statistical analysis (P

Background Neonates born through meconium stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Objective To study the incidence, associated factors and outcome of meconium stained amniotic fluid babies born in Dhulikhel hospital. Method Prospective, cross-sectional study conducted in Obstetric ward and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from 15 December 2015 to 15 December 2016. All the babies born through meconium stained amniotic fluid during the period were included. Result Incidence of meconium stained amniotic fluid was 6.5%(167/2581). Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) developed in 9(5.4%) among all meconium stained amniotic fluid cases. Primigravidity and postdatism were observed more in Meconium aspiration syndrome group than meconium stained amniotic fluid group (77.8% VS 73.4%; 33.3% VS 26.3%). Babies delivered by caesarian section were more in meconium stained amniotic fluid group than Meconium aspiration syndrome group (47.5% VS 33.3%). All the babies with meconium stained amniotic fluid improved except one baby with Meconium aspiration syndrome who expired. Neonatal sepsis was a significant co-morbidity in Meconium aspiration syndrome group (P value= 0.008). There was increased incidence of operative delivery in thick meconium stained amniotic fluid than thin meconium stained amniotic fluid (52.6% VS 38.9%). Similarly, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission and neonatal complications like Meconium aspiration syndrome, perinatal asphyxia and sepsis were more commonly observed in thick meconium stained amniotic fluid group than thin meconium stained amniotic fluid group. Conclusion The progression to meconium aspiration syndrome in babies with meconium stained amniotic fluid is not associated with any maternal and neonatal factors studied. MAS babies are 10 times more likely to require NICU admission and sepsis is a significant co-morbidity. Thick meconium stained amniotic fluid is worrisome. There is increased chance of operative delivery and neonatal complications if associated with thick meconium stained amniotic fluid.

The use of bio-based nanoparticles is getting importance due to their ecofriendly and economic nature. Bio-based nanoparticles mainly synthesized from bottom-up approach and mother protein, secondary metabolite, extract, etc. act as stabilizing and capping agent. It helps to synthesize more stable and uniform nanoparticles as compared to chemical methods. High catalytic activity, more surface area, ion exchange capacity, fluorescence activity, and presence in different dimension such as metals, ceramics, and magnetic form allowed use of nanoparticles and their formulation in the field of agriculture such as soil nutrients, crop protectants, environment cleanup, contaminant detection, and reduction of post-harvest losses. Further, nano formulation approaches for controlled delivery of pesticides, nutrients, genetic materials, and growth stimulator can act as an another boon in the agriculture sector.

This study was conducted to evaluate 16 early Indian cauliflower genotypes for agro-morphological traits, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity. Analysis of variance, cluster analyses, and principal components analysis (PCA) elucidated patterns of variation among the genotypes. The genotype CC 12 exhibited highest marketable curd weight (450 g). Curd sinigrin varied from 3.29 to 16.37 µmol 100g−1 FW with maximum in DC 41–5. Total antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC and FRAP) ranged from 8.87 to 24.24 mg GAE 100g−1 and 11.71 to 34.00 mg GAE 100g−1 FW, respectively. The Phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than the Genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all the characters with highest GCV, PCV and high heritability value for sinigrin content in curd. D2 statistics classified the genotypes into three clusters where genotypes in cluster I had high sinigrin both in curd and leaf. The PCA revealed that first principal component (PC1) contributed 47.86% of total variation whereas, second principal component (PC2) contributed 35.14%. The genotypes Pusa Deepali, Selection 71, and CC 13 could be used in breeding programme for higher yield and bioactive compounds.

Valence band offset of 2.3 ± 0.4 eV at strained NiO/MgO heterojunction is determined from photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) measurements. The determined value of valence band offset is larger than that is predicted from first principle calculations, but is in corroboration with that obtained from band transitivity rule. Our PES result indicates a larger value of the valence band offset at strained NiO/MgO heterojunction and can be used to predict accurately carrier transport and electroluminescence mechanisms for n-ZnO/MgO/p-NiO and p-NiO/MgO/n-GaN heterojunction light emitting diodes.

Marek’s disease (MD), is an economically important virus disease of poultry throughout the world. In this study, we for the first time reports development of a novel dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-ELISA) for the confirmatory diagnosis of lymphoma caused by Marek’s Disease Virus (MDV). Suspected lymphoma tissue extracts from the diseased birds were used for the Meq oncoprotein antigen detection, which is expressed specifically in MDV lymphomas. Recombinant Meq oncoprotein was expressed using Expresso™ Rhamnose Sumo Cloning and Expression system and the hyperimmune serum was raised against it, which was used later while developing dot-ELISA. The dot-ELISA exhibited higher specificity (92%) in diagnosing MD lymphomas as compared to conventional PCR (40%), where later assay is unable to differentiate disease development (lymphoma) and/or infection. The developed dot-ELISA proved to be a specific, rapid and inexpensive technique detecting MDV lymphomas in poultry. Of the note, this new assay could be opted as a valuable diagnostic tool in the resource poor countries andcould further be used to differentiate from other tumor causing viruses in poultry.

The use of Jatropha curcas L. (Jatropha) as biofuel is currently increasing in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Jatropha species are well known for synthesizing various toxicants. However, the effects of Jatropha plantation on soil microbiota have barely been investigated. Hence, in current experiment, we had investigated the effects of Jatropha cultivation on soil microbial and biochemical properties in winter, summer and wet seasons after 9 years of plantation with different plant population densities. A nearby uncultivated area was included as the control site. Soil organic carbon was found to increase, while carbon: nitrogen ratio (C:N) decreased under Jatropha plantation as compared to control. Irrespective of seasons, mean microbial biomass C (MBC) and microbial biomass N increased under Jatropha plantation. The microbial quotient calculated as the percentage of MBC to soil organic carbon was lowest in summer and relatively constant in other two seasons. There was a significant increase in urease and dehydrogenase enzyme activities due to Jatropha plantation. The rate of decomposition of soil organic matter was faster under Jatropha cultivation compared to the control. The study revealed that irrespective of population density of Jatropha, there was improvement of soil health in terms of biochemical and microbial characteristics. These findings suggest that Jatropha can be used in the bunds of agricultural lands or in the degraded lands without any harmful effects on the soil microbial community.

In-situ and ex-situ allelopathic effects of jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) were analyzed by studying growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Ex-situ approach included studying laboratory bioassay of leaf aqueous extract effects on seed germination and seedling growth; and pot experimentation with different jatropha plant parts as soil amendments. Wheat was grown under the jatropha plantation in in-situ approach. To eliminate the shade effects of jatropha, a treatment plot was prepared by cutting jatropha trees to 0.5 m above ground level. Bioassay indicated the inhibitory effects of leaf extracts, particularly at high concentrations on seed germination and seedling growth of wheat. In ex-situ pot experiment, soil amendments with different plant parts enhanced biomasses and grain yields of wheat. Increase in yield and biomass was higher in pots amended with jatropha fruit, followed by leaf and stem. When wheat crop was grown with jatropha in in-situ approach, results were more conclusive as the ill effects of jatropha were not seen in pruned plants plots. Grain yield and biomass declined under the standing jatropha cultivation, with lowest reduction in low plant population density plots. Thus, an inhibitory effect of jatropha on wheat was limited to ex-situ bioassay only. Winter shedding of leaves in jatropha could be a boon for the Rabi (winter season) intercrops, and wheat could be an option for its cultivation under low plant population densities of jatropha with limited irrigation in north-west India.

Miogypsina (Lepidosemicyclina) droogeri Zone occupies an important position in the Indian biochronostratigraphy since the reservoirs of the giant oil field of Bombay High pertain to this zone. A rich assemblage of the topotype material from Kachchh is morphometically analysed for the better understanding of the variation in the population and its relation with the closely related species. The mean value of V is recorded as 77.5 for 24 specimens of Miogypsina (Lepidosemicyclina) droogeri Mohan and Tewari. The detailed study of Miogypsinidae from the exposures in Kachchh and a continuously cored offshore well ED-D from Bombay Offshore has helped in the better understanding of the evolution of Lepidosemicyclina lineage from Miogypsina (Lepidosemicyclina) thecideaeformis Rutten to Miogypsina (Lepidosemicyclina) droogeri Mohan and Tewari through Miogypsina (Lepidosemicyclina) talukdari Raju and Singh.

Mungbean is an important leguminous crop providing protein for the rural and urban poor in South and Southeast Asia. An experiment was conducted in free air carbon dioxide enrichment facility (FACE) ring to study the impact of increased CO2 level on growth and biomass partitioning in mungbean crop. The crop was grown under ambient (400 μmol mol-1) and elevated CO2 concentration (550 μmol mol-1) with 5 doses of P with and without cyanobacterial inoculation. Elevated CO2 significantly increased biomass accumulation in mungbean crop which was further increased by P and cyanobacteria application. Leaf biomass increased by 34.4% at increased CO2 level. Maximum biomass allocation to seeds was observed with P dose of 16 mg kg-1 soil in both ambient and elevated CO2 conditions. Allocation was more in high CO2 treatment. The study concludes that mungbean crop grown under elevated CO2 condition accumulates more biomass which gets further improved by application of P nutrient and cyanobacteria inoculation.

The study details characterization of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates recovered from commercial poultry flocks (chicken) and wild birds (crane) of India during the time period from 1989 to 2013. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most of the NDV isolates belongs to class II, genotype XIIIa and a chicken isolate (108/BAREILLY/AD-IVRI/91) was of genotype VI, where it showed diversity of 3 % from the other viruses belonging to same genotype. Another chicken isolate (75/RAMPUR/AD-IVRI/89) grouped in genotype III and showed 4 % diversity with viruses of genotype III. The crane origin NDV identified as of genotype II corresponding to the vaccine virus. This appears to be the first report about existence of genotype XIIIa and its ancestral viruses are circulating in India for the last two decades in different species of birds. Furthermore, genetically distinct viruses belonging to genotypes II, III and VI are also circulating in India.

Mustard (Brassica juncea) var. Pusa Jaikisan was grown in a pot experiment in soil supplemented with different concentrations of nickel and chromium (50 and 100 mg kg−1 soil), lead (100 and 200 mg kg−1 soil), cadmium (5 and 10 mg kg−1 soil) and mercury (25 and 50 mg kg−1 soil) as a leafy vegetable. The study revealed that as the contamination level increased significant reductions were observed in biomass, photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll a and b contents as compared to control plants. However, plant’s stress tolerance mechanisms, including proline content and activity of antioxidant enzyme increased under different treatments. Mercury treatment recorded greater negative effects on the crop.

An experiment was conducted growing maize (Zea mays L.) in open top chambers (OTCs) to determine the effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature on growth, yield, yield attributes and grain quality of maize. Maize (var. PEHM 5) was grown with two levels of carbon dioxide i.e., ambient (400 ppm) and elevated (550 ± 20 ppm) and three levels of temperature i.e., ambient, ambient +1.5 °C and ambient +3.0 °C during kharif (July–October) seasons of 2013 and 2014 in New Delhi, India. Elevated CO2 increased grain yield of maize by 53.7% and harvest index (HI) by 2.9% compared to ambient CO2. Stover yield and yield attributes such as cob length, cob diameter, grain weight cob−1, number of grains cob−1 and 100 grain weight also increased with elevated CO2. However, elevated CO2 decreased N concentrations in grain by 11.0% and P content by 19.0% but increased K content by 5.0% over ambient CO2. Elevated temperature by 1.5 °C and 3.0 °C decreased grain yield by 4.9% and stover yield by 37.0% but increased HI by 6.0% compared to ambient temperature. Elevated temperature levels positively affected grain N, P and K concentrations in grain. Simultaneous elevation of CO2 and temperature increased leaf area index, number of grains row−1, grain yield and harvest index but decreased days to 50% tasseling, cob length, cob diameter, grain weight cob−1 and crude protein content in grain. Test weight, stover yield and total biomass increased at elevated CO2 with ambient +1.5 °C temperature but decreased at elevated CO2 with ambient +3.0 °C temperature. The results indicated that elevated CO2 had positive effects whereas elevated temperature had negative effects on growth and yield of maize. With elevation of both CO2 and temperature, elevated CO2 reduced the negative effects of elevated temperature on yield and yield components of maize.

Lattice distortion and epitaxial nature of β-Ga2O3 layers deposited on GaN templates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering have been evaluated. Determined values of out-of-plane (tensile type) and in-plane (compressive type) strain are found to decrease with increase in deposition temperature indicating better relaxation of unit cell lattice at higher temperatures. The obtained value of angle β is invariably higher than its bulk value suggesting a distortion in the unit cell of β-Ga2O3 layer. The columnar type of growth for β-Ga2O3 layer on GaN template has been observed. Analysis of epitaxial nature reveals that six domains of grown layer are in-plane rotated by 60o ± δo (δ=2-3o) with each other, which is explained due to the presence of three non-equivalent oxygen atoms on (-201) plane of β-Ga2O3. The calculated values of δ nearly match with experimentally observed values; however, smaller difference between the two is related to residual strain in the layer. The out-of-plane and in-plane epitaxial relationship for β-Ga2O3 layer with respect to GaN are (-201)Ga2O3 || (0001)GaN, (010)Ga2O3 || (11-20)GaN respectively.