Nutrient Media Optimization for Date Palm Micropropagation (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

An experimental study was conducted to optimise nutritional media for date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) micropropagation by employing a shoot tip as an explant on basic Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with varied Auxin (IAA, NAA) and Cytokinin (Kinetin and 2ip) concentrations for shoot and root multiplication. The findings of date palm regeneration on basal MS medium (Control) without Kinetin and IAA indicated a decreased survival rate (5.0%) and no root or shoot up to the end of the experiment. When the basal MS medium having different Kinetin and IAA concentrations showed an increased rate of survival, i.e. basal MS +0.5 mg/L of Kinetin and 0.0 IAA (8.0%), MS basal+1.0 mg/L of Kinetin and 0.5 IAA (6.6) and basal MS +2.0 mg/L of Kinetin and 1.5 IAA (7.0) and basal MS contains 1.5 mg/L of Kinetin and 1.0 IAA resulted in highest survival rate (8.8%). However, the highest number of shoots (2.2) and a maximum length of shoots (8.8 cm) were recorded on basal MS medium containing 2.0 mg/L of Kinetin and 1.5 IAA. Moreover, the highest number of roots (3.34) and measured the maximum length of roots (3.56 cm) was achieved on basal MS media containing 1.0 NAA and 1.5 mg/L of 2ip.

Morphometric study of sacrum and its clinical implications in population in Bihar

The sacrum is a large triangular bone formed by fusion of five sacral vertebrae and wedged between two hip bones. Dimension of sacrum varies from region to region therefore morphometric study of sacrum in population of Bihar is important for proper fixation during orthopedic procedure in trauma patients. : The objectives of this study was to evaluate the morphometric parameters of sacrum so that a data can be generated from local population. M: The present study was done on 110 human sacra of known sex (62 male and 48 female) collected from department of Anatomy, IGIMS, Patna and also from other medical colleges of Bihar. Maximum length of sacrum, curved length of sacrum, maximum breadth of sacrum, antero-posterior diameter of the body of first sacral vertebra, transverse diameter of the body of first sacral vertebra and maximum length of articular surface of sacrum were measured. Mean value of sacral straight length were 104.55 cm in male and 94.66 cm in female, Curve length 112.03 cm in male and 103.98 cm in female, Width of sacrum 101.53 cm in male and 105.67 cm in female. Transverse diameter of body of 1st sacral vertebra were 46.53 cm and 40.85 cm in male and female respectively, antero-posterior diameter of body of 1st sacral vertebra were 29.89 cm and 27.73 cm in male and female respectively, Length of auricular surface were 56.08 cm and 54.77 cm respectively. Sacral index, curvature index, index of body of first sacral vertebra, corpora-basal index and auricular index were calculated. Morphometric study of sacrum in population of Bihar is important because dimension of sacrum varies from region to region and this is important for proper fixation during orthopedic procedure in trauma patients.

Is summer becoming more uncomfortable at Indian cities?

The recent decades have witnessed significant increase in temperatures both on global and regional scale. Some specific locations in India like Orissa and Andhra Pradesh have experienced unusually heat wave conditions resulting in increase in heat stress associated illnesses and mortality. There is a general belief that cities have become more uncomfortable during summer, particularly in the recent years. The present study is an attempt to examine the trend in discomfort over the Indian cities measured by an index (Thermo-Hygrometric Index: THI). Results show that in general there is an increasing trend in the discomfort from the last 10 days of April to June over most of the Indian cities. Further, frequency and maximum length of continuous periods exceeding abnormal discomfort values over a number of stations are steadily increasing particularly during May and June.

Local Victory: Assessing Interspecific Competition in Seagrass From a Trait-Based Perspective

Tropical seagrass meadows are formed by an array of seagrass species that share the same space. Species sharing the same plot are competing for resources, namely light and inorganic nutrients, which results in the capacity of some species to preempt space from others. However, the drivers behind seagrass species competition are not completely understood. In this work, we studied the competitive interactions among tropical seagrass species of Unguja Island (Zanzibar, Tanzania) using a trait-based approach. We quantified the abundance of eight seagrass species under different trophic states, and selected nine traits related to light and inorganic nutrient preemption to characterize the functional strategy of the species (leaf maximum length and width, leaves per shoot, leaf mass area, vertical rhizome length, shoots per meter of ramet, rhizome diameter, roots per meter of ramet, and root maximum length). From the seagrass abundance we calculated the probability of space preemption between pairs of seagrass species and for each individual seagrass species under the different trophic states. Species had different probabilities of space preemption, with the climax species Thalassodendron ciliatum, Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, and the opportunistic Cymodocea serrulata having the highest probability of preemption, while the pioneer and opportunistic species Halophila ovalis, Syringodium isoetifolium, Halodule uninervis, and Cymodocea rotundata had the lowest. Traits determining the functional strategy showed that there was a size gradient across species. For two co-occurring seagrass species, probability of preemption was the highest for the larger species, it increased as the size difference between species increased and was unaffected by the trophic state. Competitive interactions among seagrass species were asymmetrical, i.e., negative effects were not reciprocal, and the driver behind space preemption was determined by plant size. Seagrass space preemption is a consequence of resource competition, and the probability of a species to exert preemption can be calculated using a trait-based approach.

Pseudo-random sequences of non-maximum length on shift registers with reducible and primitive polynomials

Inhomogeneous pseudo-random sequences of non-maximal length formed by shift registers with linear feedbacks based on a characteristic polynomial of degree n of the form ϕ(x)=ϕ1(x)ϕ2(x), where ϕ1(x) = x m1 ⊕ 1, and ϕ2(x) of degree m 2 is primitive (m 1 = 2 k , k is a positive integer, n = m 1 + m 2) are considered. Three schemes that are equivalent in terms of periodic sequence structures were considered. Of the greatest interest are the shift registers connected in an arbitrary way using a modulo-two adder, the feedbacks in which correspond to the multipliers ϕ1(x) and ϕ2(x) the polynomials ϕ(x). In this case, there is a complex process of forming output sequences, which involves both direct and inverse M-sequences. The statement about the singularity of the generated sequences at m 1 = 4 is proved, which is confirmed by their decimation with an index equal to the period of the primitive polynomial.