Novel Utilization of Biofertilizers in Crop and Soil Improvement

The study was carried out to investigate the yield and soil quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and moong (Vigna radiate L.) crop. In order to obtain high precision in the results of the present investigation, the research trials were conducted for two consecutive years 2008-09 and 2009-10 under field conditions at Artoni (Agra) site. The experiment was laid out in RBD with five microbes (Azospirillum, Azotobactor, PSB, Azolla and Rhizobium) and four levels (120 and 60 kg N for wheat and 25 and 10 kg N for moong crop) of nitrogen. The results of this experiment proved that T2 treatment (Azospirillum +60 kg N ha-1) showed the best outcome during both the years for wheat crop and in moong crop. The growth and yield parameters i.e. plant height, no. of branches plant-1 no. of pods plant-1, pod length and grain yield were observed and treatment T7 (Rhizobium +10 kg N ha-1) was found to be better combination than others. The soil in respect to its physico-chemical properties showed an improvement due to the use of biofertilizers when compared to control and farmers practice.

Issues and Challenges in Functioning of Panchayati Raj Institutions for Sustainable Development: A Case Study

Sustainable developmental goals (SDG’s) are new global level of goals, with targets and indicators that 193 member countries of United Nations in the world have mutually set and agreed upon. There are 17 goals on which the entire world is focusing at present to ensure sustainable development. For attaining these goals, local self-governance is used at the grassroots levels and in India the machinery is Panchayati raj Institutions. These institutions operate from central and state government level and include all the villages in it. These villages have panchayats and it is maintained by Gram Pradhans i.e. elected representatives, Secretary and other members of the gram panchayats. Though a lot is being done at grassroot level by these Gram Pradhans, under the mechanism of Panchayati raj institution and other administrative bodies, however it is not free from challenges. The present case study is a descriptive study which focuses attention to identify different challenges the elected representatives experience, in Panchayati raj institutions in India, which contribute directly for the sustainable development.

Molecular Pathways of Ischemic Stroke and Advanced Therapeutic Strategies

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and permanent disability. This disease may affect any age group and especially in old age and pregnancy. All the responsible mechanisms are yet not completely understood. There is limited therapeutic intervention beyond prevention, yet tremendous progress in understanding cause of stroke at molecular level has been going on. A lot of advancement has occurred in the prevention and treatment of stroke during the past decade. In this review an update work of causeways of stroke and its therapeutic approaches have been discussed. The relevance of excitotoxicity (role of glutamate receptor), inflammation, ischemic penumbra, apoptosis, to delayed mechanisms and, damage and treatment strategies have been hasted out. Although the results among clinical studies, conflict regarding several experimental data of different therapies, and it may improve neurological outcome after acute cerebral ischemia. Along this several other interventions and new technologies such as stroke detector microwave helmet are being assessed and many other advanced techniques developed by researchers. Even the development of other novel and new treatment strategies (regarding molecular pathways and risk to benefit therapeutic ratio) for stroke are still required in future for better treatment.

Pharmacological Evaluation of Saccharum Officinarum Linn. as Anti-ulcer Agent

The purpose of the study was to elucidate the antiulcer activity of stem of Saccharum Officinarum (Poaceae) in albino rats against aspirin induced gastric ulcer, ethanol induced gastric ulcer and pylorus ligation induced gastric ulcer models. Groups of rats were fasted overnight, received ranitidine (20 mg/kg) as a standard and plant stem juice extract at dose of 0.75 mL/100 gm and 1.5 mL/100 gm as a treatment against aspirin induced gastric ulcer, ethanol induced gastric ulcer and pylorus ligation induced gastric ulcer. The treatment produced significant protection of ulcer induced by aspirin, ethanol and pylorus ligation induced ulcer. The extract also reduced ulcer index, volume of gastric content, free and total acidity, suggesting that extract possesses significant anti-ulcer activity.

Recent Advances in Temperate Fruit Crop Improvement

Globally India is the second largest producer of fruits; however the productivity is significantly low as compared to advanced countries. The majority of the temperate fruits and nuts are being cultivated in the north-western Himalayan and small areas are lies in north eastern parts. High altitude and temperate regions are capable to produce good quality fruits. But the foothill where the chilling is insufficient adversely affects the yield and quality. In India, majority of the temperate fruits were introduced from other parts of the world and some are indigenous to India like walnuts and wild apple species. Therefore, the improvement of the temperate fruits and nuts were taken place mainly through introduction of promising cultivars. The exotic cultivars are still the backbone of fruit production in India particularly for apple, pear, peach, plum and cherry. Promising varieties were introduced from USA, UK, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary and Bulgaria and were evaluated for commercial exploitation. However, in walnutand almonds, production is mainly from Indigenous cultivars/ local land races. These consisted of non-descriptive trees and highly variable in yield and quality traits. Recently, several varieties have been developed in India in apple, peach, plum, apricot, cherry and walnut. The potential of these varieties are immense for commercial exploitation. The paper attempt to document the accomplishment made in temperate fruit and nut improvement in perspective to Indian Scenario. The information is valuable for breeders and academician for further studies.

Book Review

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Methane Flux Estimation in MSW Open Dump Site by In-Situ Measurement and IPCC (DM and FOD) Model

This paper deals with the use of different methods to predict methane generation on an open dump site. Methane recovery data obtained on site as part of a research program being carried out at the Devguradia dumpsite, Indore, is analyzed and used to obtain field methane emission in three seasons. Field data from Municipal solid waste (MSW) dump site are presented and discussed measured in-situ technique i.e. using close chamber methods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Default Method (DM) and First order Decay (FOD) method is used to estimate methane generation. It is found that despite the assumptions and the simplicity of the adopted procedures, the values methane obtained are slightly varying to those measured in the field. The values obtained were 4.5, 2.9 and 0.35 Gg/y respectively.

Cosmoceutical and Therapeutic Potential of Isotretinoin Nanoparticulate Gel in Management of Acne

This study intended to develop and evaluate isotretinoin (ITR) loaded nanoparticles taking chitosan as a polymer of interest. Ionic crosslinking method was utilized to prepare nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were formulated using varying ratios (chitosan: tripolyphosphate) and evaluated for its size, distribution of size, zeta potential, percentage of ITR entrapped within nanoparticles, in vitro drug release and its stability under accelerated conditions. The prepared nanoparticles (NPs) were spherical, white in color and free flowing, 321± 4.5 nm was the average size of optimized chitosan nanoparticles and it was able to entrap 88.76 ± 3.5%. The outcomes assured vast promise of the CNs of ITR (optimized) in management of acne and also increasing the therapeutic efficacy, thus establish to be a promising, effective and patient compliant formulation. INTRODUCTION Acne, a cutaneous pleomorphic condition of the pilosebaceous unit involving sebum production rate anomaly and described by inflammatory (pustules, nodules and papules) as well as non-inflammatory comedones (closed and/or open)(Knutson, 1974). Regular pus-forming microbes Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis are responsible for development of many forms of acne vulgaris(Rawat, Tripathi et al., 2015). It is a pleomorphic disorder and can manifest at any time during life but it most commonly occurs between ages of 12-24 years, accounting effective 85% of population (Cordain, Lindeberg et al., 2002). P. acne is an anaerobic microorganismexisting in acne lesionsthat promotes inflammation through a variety of mechanisms and involved inproducing pro-inflammatory mediators that diffuses through the follicle wall (Itoh, Tsuchida et al., 2014). Prominent in adolescence and puberty, acne is definitely associated with function of sebaceous gland, which stimulate higher secretion of sebum androgenically (Singh, Gangwar et al., 2016).However, the consequential sebaceous

Study on the Comparative Performance Assessment of Distillation method by using a Conventional Method and Elix Technology

In this study, experiments were conducted on feed water and distill water generated from simple solar still and from elix technology; water quality analysis was done in laboratory to check the contaminants removal efficiency from raw water samples. Changes in the water quality may causes error in the compromised experimental results, contaminated reagents and also may change the accuracy of the equipment. The quality of water used in the laboratory is critical for the success of the tests performed. Water quality parameter such as pH, EC, TDS, COD, total alkalinity, total hardness, free residual chlorine, sodium, turbidity, chloride, sulphate, floride, Total and Fecal coliform and heavy metal like Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, were analysed. Distilled water is one of the essential components for chemical and biological analysis in the field of analytical and medical testing. Many distillation methods are available but they are either energy intensive or use renewable (solar) energy like conventional solar still. In this study, performance analysis was conducted for Non-conventional (reverse osmosis and electro-de-ionization hybrid) and conventional (solar still) distillation units. The values obtained were within the standard range and it was concluded that the results of Elix water testing from processing unit were found more promising for research purpose.

Application of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria in Growth Enhancement of a Multipurpose crop Crotalaria Juncea (Sunhemp) in Saline Soil

Salinity is a major abiotic stress which limits the crop productivity. In this study salt tolerant bacteria were isolated from root nodules of Crotalaria juncea plant collected from different salt affected sites. Salt tolerance activity of all the isolates was checked and it was observed that 47% of the isolates showed up to 8% salt tolerance. On the basis of morphological, biochemical and physiological characterization isolates were found to be Gram negative, rod shaped and motile bacteria that belong to rhizobia. All the isolates also showed nodulation in host plant. Most of the isolates were positive for various plant growth promoting attributes. On the basis of salt tolerance and plant growth promoting characterization isolate CR6 was selected for further studies. CR6 showed positive results for phosphate and zinc solubilisation, and was able to produce indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophore and exopolysaccharides (EPS). CR6 also showed nitrogen fixation and ACC deaminase activity. CR6 was applied on Crotalaria plant to enhance growth in saline soil. After application of CR6 seed germination rate and various growth parameters such as root length, shoot length, nodule number, fresh weight, dry weight, leaves count, chlorophyll and proline content of plants were enhanced in comparison to control, hence CR6 can be used as an efficient bioinoculant to enhance crop growth in saline soil.