Effect of hydropriming and different sowing dates on growth and yield attributes of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The present investigation was conducted to study the effects of hydropriming and different sowing dates on growth and yield attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during Rabi season of 2014-15.The experiment was conducted in Randomised Block Design with three replications. The highest germination percentage was recorded at T4 [hydropriming] 22nd Nov + 16 hrs. ( 94.04%), plant height highest was recorded at T4 (95.23cm), highest number of tillers at T4 (4.40), number of spikelet per spike highest at T4 (18.73), numbers of grains per spike highest at T4 (53.13), root length (16.07cm), test weight (43.33g), grain yield (42.79 q/ha), harvest index (63.46%) recorded similar result in same treatment. Therefore it may be concluded that 22nd Nov with 16 hrs. of hydropriming treatment can be recommended to PBW-343 wheat grower for obtaining better growth and yield

Pseudohypoparathyroidism Presenting as Congestive Cardiac Failure

Hypocalcaemia can have a variety of manifestations including cardiovascular changes. Hypocalcemic cardiomyopathy has been reported in hypoparathyroidism and vitamin D deficiency but association of hypocalcemic cardiomyopathy in pseudohypo-parathyroidism has been reported scarcely in literature. We describe here a case of PHP presenting as congestive cardiac failure

Seed yield and quality as influenced by growing conditions in hybrid seed production of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) cv. Pusa Hybrid-1

The present investigation was carried out under insect proof net house (IPN) and open field condition (OFC) at Centre for Protected Cultivation Technology and Seed Testing Laboratory of Division of Seed Science &Technology, IARI, New Delhi in bitter gourd cv. Pusa Hybrid-1 during summer season because under open field condition the seed yield and seed quality of bitter gourd drastically reduced due to viral diseases and fruit fly in kharif and early onset of high temperature, unseasonal rains during summer, which restricts the hybrid seed production of bitter gourd under north Indian condition. The observations on seed yield & quality characters and physical properties of seed were recorded. The quality attributes were evaluated immediately after harvest and after 8 months of ambient storage and their results were compared. The experimental results revealed that total number of seed per fruit (46.7), number of filled seed per fruit (45.3), seed yield per fruit (9.41g), seed yield per plant (27.28g), and seed yield per hectare (232kg) were significantly higher under IPN in comparison to OFC. Among the physical parameters of seed, seed width (0.81cm) & seed coat (0.79g) weight recorded significantly higher in IPN. The seed quality attributes immediately after harvest was also significantly superior under IPN compared to OFC except for germination %. The hybrid seed produced under IPN conditions could maintain their superiority for quality traits even after 8 monthsof its ambient storage. The seed yield and seed quality attributes were comparatively superior under IPN conditions. The seed crop grown under IPN overcomes the threat of insect vectors, viral diseases and unfavourable climatic conditions and helps in attaining the better seed yield and quality

A bright future for colloidal quantum dot lasers

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The Mitochondrial Ca(2+) Uniporter: Structure, Function, and Pharmacology.

Mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake is crucial for an array of cellular functions while an imbalance can elicit cell death. In this chapter, we briefly reviewed the various modes of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake and our current understanding of mitochondrial Ca(2+) homeostasis in regards to cell physiology and pathophysiology. Further, this chapter focuses on the molecular identities, intracellular regulators as well as the pharmacology of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter complex

Research Notes : India : Potential of an off-season soybean nursery

In India, soybean is generally sown during summer (June-October). However, due to tremendous variability in climatic conditions of the country, there is a scope for growing soybean in more than one season. The efficacy of yield improvement projects could be substantially enhanced by rapid genera-tion turnover

Bone Tumors: Types and Treatments

The tumors associated with bone are mostly of mesenchymal origin and contribute to approximately 1% of all the known tumors. These could be primary/benign tumors (that originate in the bone), secondary tumors (that originate in some other tissue/organ and metastasize to the bone), or malignant primary bone tumors (that originate in bone and metastasize to distant tissue). These tumors are majorly due to defects in the regulation of tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes and/or misregulation of signal transduction pathways. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy used for the treatment have several side effects. During the recent years, therapeutic strategies involving hormone deprivation (estrogen, androgen), hormone replacements (estrogen analogs), hormone receptor modulators (SERMs), growth factors and cytokines, small-molecule inhibitors, and gene therapy have emerged as a promising alternative to chemo- and radiotherapy. In the present chapter, we have provided an extensive account of tumors associated with the bone and various therapeutic options related to hormone deprivation, hormone replacements, hormone receptor modulators, and hormone inhibition

Effect of truss retention and pruning of berry on seed yield and quality of cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var cerasiforme) grown under different polyhouse structures

Study was conducted to evaluate the effect of retention of truss per plant and pruning of berries per truss on seed yield and quality of cherry tomato (Solanum tycopersicum var cerasiforme L.) grown under three different polyhouse structures, viz. semi climate controlled polyhouse (P1), naturally ventilated polyhouse (P2) and insect proof nethouse (P3). Among the structures P1 gave higher berry weight (7.67 g), number of seeds/berry (60.66), 100 seed weight (0.1328 g), seed yield/berry (0.0912 g), germination (84.90%), vigour index-I (650.64), vigour index-II (1.47) and lower EC (0.0086 µS/g/cm), when compared to P2 and P3. The retention of 5 truss per plant (V1) recorded higher berry weight (7.37 g), number of seeds/berry (63.25), 100 seed weight (0.1319 g), seed yield/berry (0.0886 g), germination (84.68 %), vigour index-I (640.97), vigour index-II (1.43) and lower electrical conductivity (0.0083 µS/ g/cm), as compared to V2 and V3. The thinning of berry, i.e 10 per truss (B1) has given significantly higher mean berry weight (8.21 g), number of seeds/berry (61.53), 100 seed weight (0.1323 g), 100 seed weight (0.1323 g), seed yield/berry (0.0913 g), germination (86.01%), vigour index-I (651.96), vigour-II (1.46) and lower EC (0.0080 µS/g/ cm) in comparison to B2 and B3

Evaluation of water properties in HEA–HEMA hydrogels swollen in aqueous-PEG solutions using thermoanalytical techniques

Hydrogels are polymeric materials used in many pharmaceutical and biomedical applications due to their ability to form 3D hydrophilic polymeric networks, which can absorb large amounts of water. In the present work, polyethylene glycols (PEG) were introduced into the hydrogel liquid phase in order to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels composed of 2-hydroxyethylacrylate and 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEA–HEMA) synthesized with different co-monomer compositions and equilibrated in water or in 20 % water–PEG 400 and 600 solutions. The thermoanalytical techniques [differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG)] were used to evaluate the amount and properties of free and bound water in HEA–HEMA hydrogels. The internal structure and the mechanical properties of hydrogels were studied using scanning electron microscopy and friability assay. TG “loss-on-drying” experiments were applied to study the water-retention properties of hydrogels, whereas the combination of TG and DSC allowed estimating the total amount of freezable and non-freezing water in hydrogels. The results show that the addition of viscous co-solvent (PEG) to the liquid medium results in significant improvement of the mechanical properties of HEA–HEMA hydrogels and also slightly retards the water loss from the hydrogels. A redistribution of free and bound water in the hydrogels equilibrated in mixed solutions containing 20 vol% of PEGs takes place