Genetic study of terminal heat stress in indigenous collections of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) germplasm

Aim: The present study was carried out to evaluate 145 genotypes of Indian mustard for terminal heat stress under late sown irrigated conditions. Methodology: One hundred and forty five genotypes of Indian mustard were evaluated for terminal heat tolerance, along with six checks in augmented block design. The effect of heat stress was assessed on different agro-morphological traits. Data were recorded on five randomly selected plants for 12 different quantitative traits for each genotype. Results: Terminal heat stress caused significant reduction in performance of all traits, except oil content and fruiting zone length. Seed yield per plant showed highest reduction (33.92%) followed by 1000-seed weight (21.28%). Thousand-seed weight and secondary branches per plant were found associated with seed yield under late sown conditions. Based on yield under stress, yield index, geometric mean productivity and stress tolerance indices, five lines viz., DRMR-59, DRMR-2094, DRMR-2129, DRMR-2071, DRMR-2136 were identified as high yielding and terminal heat stress tolerant. Whereas, based on heat stress susceptibility index, DRMR-1347, DRMR-1154, DRMR-1190 were top performing lines tolerant to terminal heat stress. Interpretation: Selection of high yielding lines under stress condition can be done using correlated traits. Yield under stress was found significantly correlated with YSI, YI, MP, STI and GMP suggesting to use these indices for selection of high yielding and heat tolerant lines. However, further re-validation is very much needed for effective use of these indices for selection of heat tolerant lines in Indian mustard.

Autowave Criteria of Fracture and Plastic Strain Localization of Zirconium Alloys

Plastic deformation and fracture of Zr–1% Nb alloys exposed to quasi-static tensile testing have been studied via a joint analysis of stress-strain curves, ultrasound velocity and double-exposure speckle photographs. The possibilities of ductility evaluation through the εxx strain distribution in thin-walled parts of zirconium alloys are shown in this paper. The stress-strain state of zirconium alloys in a cold rolling site is investigated considering the development of localized deformation bands and changes in ultrasound velocity. It is established that the transition from the upsetting to the reduction region is accompanied by the significant exhaustion of the plasticity margin of the material; therefore, the latter is more prone to fracture in this zone exactly. It is shown that traditional methods estimating the plasticity margin from the mechanical properties cannot reveal this region, requiring a comprehensive study of macroscopically localized plastic strain in combination with acoustic measurements. In particular, the multi-pass cold rolling of Zr alloys includes various localized deformation processes that can result in the formation of localized plasticity autowaves. Recommendations for strain distribution division over the deformation zone length in the alloy in the pilger roll grooves are provided as well.

Character Association and Path Coefficient Analysis in Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea L.)

Background: Correlation analysis informs us about the relative importance of the breeding traits and quite useful for plant breeders to formulate their breeding and selection strategies. Path coefficient analysis splits the correlation coefficient into the measures of indirect and direct effect. It identifies the indirect and direct influence of different autonomous genotype on a dependent trait. Present study aimed to determine major seed contributing components affecting seed yield and also to know the relationship among these components. Methods: Present investigation was carried out on 147 advanced breeding lines to know the correlations and path coefficient for 12 yield and yield contributing traits. The material was evaluated in augmented block design with 07 blocks, each block having 21 lines. A set of three check varieties were repeated in each block. Observations were recorded on number of primary branches/plant, number of secondary branches/plant, plant height (cm), silique/plant, fruiting zone length (cm), main shoot length (cm), number of seeds/siliquae, siliquae length (cm), biological yield/plant (g), seed yield/plant (g), harvest index and test weight. Result: The seed yield per plant showed positive and significant correlation with primary branches per plant (0.273), secondary branches per plant (0.280), siliquae per plant (0.627), biological yield per plant (0.744), harvest index (0.188), test weight (0.212) and oil content (0.225). Biological yield per plant (0.5747) had maximum direct effect on seed yield per plant followed by siliquae per plant (0.2438), harvest index (0.127), oil content (0.118) and test weight. These characters have positive and significant association with seed yield per plant. The study thus indicated that biological yield per plant, siliquae per plant, harvest index and test weight are the important characters which should be considered in selection programme in Indian mustard.

Efect of sowing dates and seed rates of flax intercropped with sugar beet on productivity of both crops and competitive relationships

The aim of intercropping flax on sugar beet is to increase the cultivated area with flax due to widely cultivated area of sugar beet. So, a field experiment was carried out to study the effect of various sowing dates and seed rates of flax intercropped with sugar beet on yield, quality and economic evaluation. The main-plots were assigned to three sowing dates of flax intercropped with sugar beet and the sub-plots were allocated to four seed rates of flax. The results show that sowing date of flax after 35 days from sowing (DFS) sugar beet resulted in the highest values of sugar beet yields and quality. Maximum values of flax straw and seed yields resulted from sowing flax after 21 DFS sugar beet. Intercropping sugar beet with flax at 12.5% from recommended seed rate on top sugar beet terraces attained the most elevated values of sugar beet yield and quality. Sowing flax at 50% from recommended rate resulted in the best values of flax technical and fruiting zone length, also straw and seed yield/hectare. The maximum yield and economic return of both crops were obtained from sowing flax at 12.5% from recommended rate after (21 or 35) DFS sugar beet.

Analysis of Storage Effects in the Recirculation Zone Based on the Junction Angle of Channel Confluence

In this study, numerical simulations using the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code model were conducted to elucidate the effects of flow structures in the recirculation zone on solute storage based on the junction angle. Numerical simulations were performed at a junction angle of 30° to 90° with a momentum flux ratio of 1.62. The simulation results revealed that an increase in the junction angle caused the recirculation zone length and width to increase and strengthened the development of helical motion. The helical motion increased the vertical gradient of the mixing layer and the mixing metric of the dosage curves. The recirculation zone accumulated the solute as a storage zone, which formed a long tail in the concentration curves. The interaction between the helical motion and recirculation zone affected the transverse mixing, such that the transverse dispersion had a positive relationship with the helical motion intensity and a negative relationship with the recirculation zone size. Transverse mixing exhibited an inverse relationship with the mass exchange rate of the recirculation zone. These results indicate that the transverse dispersion is replaced by mixing due to strongly developed storage zones.

Radiomic Features of 18F-FDG PET in Hodgkin Lymphoma Are Predictive of Outcomes

Purpose. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether the radiomic features of baseline 18F-FDG PET can predict the prognosis of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Methods. A total 65 HL patients (training cohort: n = 49; validation cohort: n = 16) were retrospectively enrolled in the present study. A total of 47 radiomic features were extracted from pretreatment PET images. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select the most useful prognostic features in the training cohort. The distance between the two lesions that were the furthest apart (Dmax) was recorded. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, Kaplan–Meier method, and Cox proportional hazards model were used to assess the prognostic factors. Results. Long-zone high gray-level emphasis extracted from a gray-level zone-length matrix (LZHGEGLZLM) (HR = 9.007; p = 0.044 ) and Dmax (HR = 3.641; p = 0.048 ) were independently correlated with 2-year progression-free survival (PFS). A prognostic stratification model was established based on both risk predictors, which could distinguish three risk categories for PFS ( p = 0.0002 ). The 2-year PFS was 100.0%, 64.7%, and 33.3%, respectively. Conclusions. LZHGEGLZLM and Dmax were independent prognostic factors for survival outcomes. Besides, we proposed a prognostic stratification model that could further improve the risk stratification of HL patients.

The Impact of Cataract Surgery on Contrast Visual Acuity and Retinal Sensitivity in Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa

Purpose. To determine the effects of cataract surgery on contrast visual acuity and retinal sensitivity in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Methods. Retinal sensitivity and contrast visual acuity were determined by microperimetry (MAIA) and contrast sensitivity acuity tester (CAT-CP), respectively, before and after cataract surgery. The significance of the correlations between visual acuity, retinal sensitivity, contrast visual acuity, improvements after surgery, and macular structure before and after cataract surgery was determined. Results. Retinal sensitivity and contrast visual acuity were significantly improved after cataract surgery. The correlations among postoperative visual acuity, postoperative retinal sensitivities, and preoperative ellipsoid zone length were significant. The postoperative retinal sensitivity of the central 10° and the ellipsoid zone length was particularly significantly correlated. Preoperative contrast visual acuity and the amount of improvement and preoperative retinal sensitivity and the amount of improvement were significantly negatively correlated. The contrast visual acuity under both the 100% and 10% photopic and mesopic conditions improved significantly after cataract surgery. Conclusions. Cataract surgery in retinitis pigmentosa patients with preserved ellipsoid zones significantly improved retinal sensitivity and contrast visual acuity. Cataract surgery can be expected to improve retinal sensitivity and contrast visual acuity under various conditions, even if preoperative visual parameters are low, as long as the ellipsoid zone is preserved.

Strip yield model for multiple straight cracks with coalesced yield zones: A theoretical study

The paper presents a complicated case of coalescence of yield zones between two internal cracks out of four collinear straight cracks weakened an infinite isotropic plate. Two solutions are presented for the case of opening and closing of multiple cracks under general yielding conditions. Using these two solutions and the principle of superposition, we found the analytical expressions for load-bearing capacity of the plate using complex variable method. A numerical study has been carried out to investigate the behavior of yield zone length concerning remotely applied stresses at the boundary of the plate and the impact of two outer cracks on the propagation of inner cracks due to coalesced yield zones. Results obtained are reported graphically.