Outbreaks of egg drop syndrome due to EDS-76 virus in quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Two outbreaks of the egg drop syndrome were observed in quail flocks maintained on a farm together with chickens. The decrease in egg production ranged from 10.6 per cent to 50.6 per cent, and the number of soft-shelled eggs increased with the decline in egg production. In both the outbreaks haemagglutination inhibiting antibodies to EDS-76 virus were detected. Fluorescent viral antigen specific to EDS-76 virus was also detected in the lining epithelial and glandular cells of the uterus.     

Seasonal speedup along the western flank of the Greenland Ice Sheet

It has been widely hypothesized that a warmer climate in Greenland would increase the volume of lubricating surface meltwater reaching the ice-bedrock interface, accelerating ice flow and increasing mass loss. We have assembled a data set that provides a synoptic-scale view, spanning ice-sheet to outlet-glacier flow, with which to evaluate this hypothesis. On the ice sheet, these data reveal summer speedups (50 to 100%) consistent with, but somewhat larger than, earlier observations. The relative speedup of outlet glaciers, however, is far smaller (<15%). Furthermore, the dominant seasonal influence on Jakobshavn Isbrae's flow is the calving front's annual advance and retreat. With other effects producing outlet-glacier speedups an order of magnitude larger, seasonal melt's influence on ice flow is likely confined to those regions dominated by ice-sheet flow.     

Can conservation tillage and residue management enhance energy use efficiency and sustainability of rice-pea system in the Eastern Himalayas?

ABSTRACT

Low productivity and energy use efficiency (EUE) of rice farming are the major concerns for agricultural sustainability in the Eastern Himalayan region of India. A field experiment on rice (Oryza sativa L.)-pea (Pisum sativum L) system was conducted for three consecutive years during 2012–15 in lowland ecosystem to assess the direct and residual impact of tillage and residue management (RM) practises on productivity and sustainability. Significantly higher grain yield of rice was achieved under no-till (NT) than minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT). Among RM practises, 50% NPK + green leaf manure, 50% NPK + weed biomass and 50% NPK + in-situ residue retention recorded significantly higher mean grain yields than application of 50% NPK and 100% NPK without residues. Residual effect of MT in preceding rice gave significantly higher green pod yield of succeeding pea than NT and CT. The system EUE was significantly higher under MT (rice)-NT (pea) compared to those of NT-NT and CT-NT systems. The sustainable yield index of rice and pea was maximum under MT-NT followed by NT-NT. Thus, NT/MT with suitable RM practises is a pertinent strategy for sustainable productivity of rice-pea system in the Eastern Himalayas and in similar adjoining regions.     

Giant piezoelectricity on Si for hyperactive MEMS

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) incorporating active piezoelectric layers offer integrated actuation, sensing, and transduction. The broad implementation of such active MEMS has long been constrained by the inability to integrate materials with giant piezoelectric response, such as Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-PbTiO(3) (PMN-PT). We synthesized high-quality PMN-PT epitaxial thin films on vicinal (001) Si wafers with the use of an epitaxial (001) SrTiO(3) template layer with superior piezoelectric coefficients (e(31,f) = -27 ± 3 coulombs per square meter) and figures of merit for piezoelectric energy-harvesting systems. We have incorporated these heterostructures into microcantilevers that are actuated with extremely low drive voltage due to thin-film piezoelectric properties that rival bulk PMN-PT single crystals. These epitaxial heterostructures exhibit very large electromechanical coupling for ultrasound medical imaging, microfluidic control, mechanical sensing, and energy harvesting.     

Impact of sulfur fertilization on distribution of sulfur fractions and use efficiency in blackgram in subtropical acidic soil of Assam,India

A field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of sulfur (S) fertilization on distribution of S in soil and use efficiency on blackgram in subtropical Inceptisol of acidic soil of Assam, India. Five levels of S were applied (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 kg S ha^?1) along with recommended dose of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Available S content gradually decreased with the advancement of crop growth stages and lowest value was observed at 60 DAS. Different S fractions were found to increase with increasing levels of S application and 40 kg S ha^?1 resulted the highest content for all S fractions. The grain and stover yield of blackgram increased significantly up to 20 kg S ha^?1 which was 95.69% higher over control. Agronomic efficiency, apparent S recovery and recovery efficiency of S were higher at 10 kg S ha^?1and found decreased with increase in level of S.     

Capturing genetic variability and selection of traits for heat tolerance in a chickpea recombinant inbred line (RIL) population under field conditions

Chickpea is the most important pulse crop globally after dry beans. Climate change and increased cropping intensity are forcing chickpea cultivation to relatively higher temperature environments. To assess the genetic variability and identify heat responsive traits, a set of 296 F_8–9 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of the cross ICC 4567 (heat sensitive) × ICC 15614 (heat tolerant) was evaluated under field conditions at ICRISAT, Patancheru, India. The experiment was conducted in an alpha lattice design with three replications during the summer seasons of 2013 and 2014 (heat stress environments, average temperature 35 °C and above), and post-rainy season of 2013 (non-stress environment, max. temperature below 30 °C). A two-fold variation for number of filled pods (FPod), total number of seeds (TS), harvest index (HI), percent pod setting (%PodSet) and grain yield (GY) was observed in the RILs under stress environments compared to non-stress environment. A yield penalty ranging from 22.26% (summer 2013) to 33.30% (summer 2014) was recorded in stress environments. Seed mass measured as 100-seed weight (HSW) was the least affected (6 and 7% reduction) trait, while %PodSet was the most affected (45.86 and 44.31% reduction) trait by high temperatures. Mixed model analysis of variance revealed a high genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) (23.29–30.22%), phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) (25.69–32.44%) along with high heritability (80.89–86.89%) for FPod, TS, %PodSet and GY across the heat stress environments. Correlation studies (r = 0.61–0.97) and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a strong positive association among the traits GY, FPod, VS and %PodSet under stress environments. Path analysis results showed that TS was the major direct and FPod was the major indirect contributors to GY under heat stress environments. Therefore, the traits that are good indicators of high grain yield under heat stress can be used in indirect selection for developing heat tolerant chickpea cultivars. Moreover, the presence of large genetic variation for heat tolerance in the population may provide an opportunity to use the RILs in future-heat tolerance breeding programme in chickpea.     

Canine transmissible venereal tumour: a review

Canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) is a contagious venereal tumour of dogs, commonly observed in dogs that are in close contact with one another, or in stray and wild dogs that exhibit unrestrained sexual activity. CTVT represents a unique, naturally transmissible, contagious tumour, where the mutated tumour cell itself is the causative agent and perpetuates as a parasitic allograft in the host. Clinical history, signalment and cytological features are often obvious for establishing a diagnosis though biopsy and histological examination may be needed in atypical cases. Most cases are curable with three intravenous injections of vincristine sulphate at weekly intervals. The role of stray and wild dogs makes the disease difficult to control and necessitates sustained animal birth control in stray dogs along with prompt therapy of the affected dogs. This review captures the manifold developments in different areas embracing this fascinating tumour, including its biology, diagnosis and therapeutic alternatives.     

Photodegradation of hexythiazox in different solvent systems under the influence of ultraviolet light and sunlight in the presence of TiO2, H2O2, and KNO3 and identification of the photometabolites

The photodegradation of the carboxamide acaricide hexythiazox in three different solvent systems (aqueous methanolic, aqueous isopropanolic, and aqueous acetonitrilic solutions) in the presence of H(2)O(2), KNO(3), and TiO(2) under ultraviolet (UV) light (λ(max) ≥ 250 nm) and sunlight (λ(max) ≥290 nm) has been assessed in this work. The kinetics of photodecomposition of hexythiazox and the identification of photoproducts were carried out using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The rate of photodecomposition of hexythiazox in different solvents followed first-order kinetics in both UV radiation and natural sunlight, and the degradation rates were faster under UV light than under sunlight. Hexythiazox was found to be more efficiently photodegraded in the presence of TiO(2) than in the presence of H(2)O(2) and KNO(3). Two major photoproducts were separated in pure form using column chromatography and identified according to IR, (1)H NMR, and mass spectral information as cyclohexylamine and 5-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-methylthiazolidin-2-one. Another nine photoproducts were identified according to LC-MS/MS spectral information. The plausible photodegradation pathways of hexythiazox were proposed according to the structures of the photoproducts.     

Effect of biofertilizers on the nutrient availability in soil in relation to growth,yield and yield attributes of Stevia rebaudiana

A field experiment was conducted at Rani Chandramma Agricultural University (Arabhavi, Belgaum), Karnataka, India, in basic soil to study the nutrient availability in soil, yield and yield attributes of the medicinal plant stevia (Stevia rebaudiana). The results showed that the availability of nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the soil increased up to the fifth month; and thereafter, decreased by the same amount with the progress of the plant growth up to the sixth month, irrespective of treatments. Results also showed that the fresh and dry biomass yields significantly increased up to the sixth month with different treatments, but the yield attributes like plant height and the number of branches were observed to be varied with various treatments, being highest in the combined application of biofertilizers over that of their corresponding sole applications.