Gwal Pahari Acid: Isolation, Characterization of a New Soil Based Plant Growth Promoting Humic Acid

There are many “Save the Soil” movements highlighting the degradation of the soil due to excessive use of fertilizers, ground water contamination and environmental pollution. An alternative strategy is the use of humic acids from Organic Matter (OM) in soils. Humic acids help grow better vegetables, quality fruits like (peas, potatoes, tomatoes, pomegranates, mangoes), cereals, and pulses. These create supramolecular self– assemblies capable of retaining water and not allowing loss of minerals and ions. Humic acids isolated from soil, lignite and city solid waste are emerging as attractive sources for developing value added products from them. There is much interest in exploiting the commercial aspects in the energy sector of the economy as these new technologies could help in cleaning the environment as well. In this paper, the isolation of a new humic acid from the soil of Gwal Pahari, Gurgaon, Haryana, India is described. This water soluble, Ninhydrin positive Gwal Pahari Acid (GPA) contains thirteen chiral centers and contains both partly rigid and dynamic systems capable of exhibiting pseudo rotation. The proposed structure of this new humic acid is based on spectroscopic studies (e.g. FT-IR, UV-visible spectroscopy), detailed mass spectrometry, and very challenging 1H- NMR and 2D-NMR studies. Ion leakage studies on Arabidopsis thaliana have shown that the new compound provides protection to the plant, and greenhouse studies demonstrate that Gwal Pahari Acid brings about substantial growth in the tomato plant

Role of prophylactic midurethral sling in preventing post-operative stress urinary incontinence following repair of anterior vaginal wall prolapse

Objective: This study was conducted to find whether, among women without preoperative stress incontinence who underwent surgery for repair of anterior vaginal wall prolapse, the placement of a prophylactic midurethral mesh along with the prolapse correction surgery helped to reduce the incidence of post-operative stress urinary incontinence (POSUI). Materials & Methods: 145 women with anterior vaginal compartment prolapse were randomly assigned to receive either suitable corrective surgery for prolapse or corrective surgery along with concurrent placement of a prophylactic midurethral sling by a transobturator Prolene tape. The primary endpoint was urinary incontinence at three months and twelve months post surgery. Secondary outcomes included expected and unexpected adverse events. Results: At three months follow up the symptoms of urinary incontinence and/or positive cough test did not differ significantly between the two groups. But at twelve months, both the symptoms of urinary incontinence (9.59% versus 23.61%, p = 0.025, 95% CI = -25.93% to -2.11%, CMLE OR =0.346) and positive cough test (8.22% versus 25%, p = 0.007, 95% CI = -28.60% to -4.96%, CMLE OR = 0.271) were significantly lower in the study group compared to the control group. Expected and unexpected adverse events during operation and through the first year after surgery were comparable in both groups Conclusion: Placement of a midurethral sling by a Prolene mesh at the time of prolapse repair surgery significantly reduces the incidence of POSUI in women who were continent preoperatively. For this, the transobturator tape method is safe and effective with a low rate of complications

Growth promoting properties of Mycobacterium and Bacillus on rice plants under induced drought

Management of drought stress through application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is now considered as an effective strategy in the present scenario of altered environmental conditions of the world. The aims and objectives of the present investigation was isolation, characterization and identification of some potential microbial resources (PGPR) from drought-affected upland rice fields of South Bengal followed by experimentation on the effect of isolated PGPR on drought induced rice seedlings. Selected isolates were isolated from rice field rhizospheric soils and tested for their PGPR activity, through phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, IAA production and ACC deaminase activity. Then, the selected isolates were identified through 16S rDNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Among the screened isolates two (isolate 1 and isolate 6) showing plant growth promoting traits, was applied on studied germplasm (IR64) to find out the influence of the applied organisms on rice growth and development under induced drought. Both organisms showed a positive influence (through increase in germination percentage, root growth, shoot growth, fresh weight and dry weight) on the studied rice growth and development under induced drought. Isolate 1 and 6 identified as species of Mycobacterium sp and Bacillus sp respectively through molecular taxonomy. Hence, these two isolates are expected to alleviate drought stress in the rice field for their nature of plant growth promotion under drought stress

Fluorescent chemodosimeter based on spirobenzopyran for organophosphorus nerve agent mimics (DCP)

A new chromogenic as well as fluorogenic protocol based on the spirobenzopyran system for the selective detection of nerve agent mimics (diethyl chlorophosphate or DCP vapour) within a few seconds (∼30 s) is designed, synthesized and characterized in this study.</p