May 2010

Shock models it is usually assumed that the interarrival times between shocks are i.i.d random variables. In manpower model discussed here is assumed that there is loss of manpower to a random extent at every decision epoch at which revised policies regarding wages, incentives and targets are announced. When the cumulative loss of manpower on successive occasions crosses the threshold level, the breakdown of the organization occurs which in turn leads to recruitment. Here to discuss the model-1 is assumed that the interarrival times between successive decision epochs are not independent but correlated. However, the independence of the random amount of damages on successive decisions is not relaxed. In model-2 is assumed that the amount of depletion of manpower at every decision making epoch depends upon the interarrival time between the previous decision. For better understanding of the above model provided by the numerical illustration.

A simple computational method (SCM) to analyze a class of (s,S) type inventory problem is developed. Under this (s, S) policy, (i) the number of units demanded where d = 1,2,... a (£ s) at successive demand epochs form a Markov chain (MC) with one step transition probability matrix (TPM) P and (ii) the replenishments are instantaneous. This method gives the algorithm for computation of stationary probabilities of inventory process, joint probability function of number of transitions and quantities of replenishments per cycle, conditional and unconditional average costs. Illustrative example for a few special cases are provided, which strengthen the applicability of the SCM to practical.

The discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) in mid ninety’s added a new dimension in the regulation of gene expression by different types of RNA. It is a phenomenon in which double stranded RNA (dsRNA) is the initiating factor in post-transcriptional gene silencing. It is a process in which the introduction of a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) in the cells causes the specific degradation of an mRNA containing the same sequence. The double stranded RNA (dsRNA) and short interfering RNA (siRNAs) alone cannot degrade mRNA, but require the assistance of two enzymes namely Dicer and RNA induced silencing complex (RISC). Dicer was first discovered in Drosophila. It is a complex enzyme belonging to the RNase III family and has four different domains. RISC is the component of the RNAi machinery that uses siRNAs to track down and degrade the complementary mRNAs. It is diverse in its occurrence and applications. The double stranded RNA (dsRNA) has a direct role in inhibiting viral infection. It is potentially useful method to develop highly specific double stranded RNA (dsRNA) based gene silencing therapeutics (Shuey et al., 2002). This technology has practical applications in crop improvements such as in the production of potato virus Y (PVY) resistant potatoes (Smith et al., 2000). Modification of plant height via RNAi suppression of one of the gibberellin (GA) 20-oxidase (GA20ox) gene viz. OSGA20 Ox2 gene, in rice has been made possible (Feng et al., 2007). The field of RNA interference (RNAi) is moving at an impressive pace and generating exciting results. A better understanding of post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) should allow a more efficient response to viral infection and the development of transgene/host associations that can override silencing to allow the expression of interested proteins.

The present investigation revealed that the volatile oil obtained from Tagetes patula contained 10 compounds and they were tested against the fourth instar larvae of Spodoptera litura for their antifeedant activity by leaf disc bioassay. Among the compounds tested Terpinolene was the most effective feeding deterrent agent against Spodoptera litura in the laboratory condition. The mean area fed 100 ppm / cm2 and 500 ppm/cm2. The all compounds tested the antifeedant activity in both concentration appreciable value were recorded.

Investigations on the anatomical aberrations and biochemical alterations of white yam incited by Botryodiplodia theobromae was carried out. Inoculated and uninoculated head, middle and tail portions of white yam were treated, sectioned weekly for five weeks and photomicrographs taken. The plates revealed massive cell wall macerations and depletion of starch grains in the three portions of yam assessed. Less damage was evident in the head portion especially after one week of infection compared with the middle and tail portions. However, there was general progressive tissue destruction and starch grains depletion with weeks. Inoculated and uninoculated yam samples were also analyzed for the carbohydrate content weekly for five weeks. Results showed that there was a reduction for carbohydrate with increase in weeks of infection. Values of 24.60 mg, 25.1 mg and 23.9 mg carbohydrate per 100 g of edible portion of white yam were recorded after one week of infection for the head, middle and tail portions respectively. About 16.90 mg and 16.80 mg carbohydrate per 100 g edible portion of white yam tuber were recorded in the fifth week compared with 20.10 mg and 20.09 mg recorded in the second week of infection in the middle and tail portions respectively. From the third week, there was no tangible reduction in the carbohydrate content especially in the head portion, though appreciable tissue maceration was evident from the photomicrograph sections, particularly, in the tail portions where there was total breakdown and collapse of cell wall boundaries.

The present study deals with the foliar characteristics of two varieties of C. annum (Danjarawa and Nsukka Yellow) and two of C. frutescens (Langalanga and Tatashi) common in Nigeria. Significant epidermal characteristics that could contribute to the taxonomy of the genus Capsicum have been revealed. These include the presence of stomata on the upper epidermis of C. annum varieties and the straight walled upper epidermis of C. annum var. Nsukka Yellow. Equally, important was the presence of a single mesogene cell in the two varieties of C. frutescens. The relevance of these observations has been discussed in relation to the taxonomy of these taxa.

Sea snakes are venomous elapid snakes which inhabit marine environments for most or all of their lives. They are found in warm coastal waters from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Most sea snakes are completely aquatic and have adapted to their environment in many ways, the most characteristic of which is a paddle-like tail that has increased their swimming ability. The aim of the present study is to assess the diversity, biology and ecology of sea snakes (Family: Hydrophiidae) occurring in the Parangipettai coastal region, Southeast coast of India. It revealed the presence of ten species included in five genera. There is no detailed study on above aspects of sea snakes of Parangipettai. Hence, the present study was undertaken in this coast.

The promotive effect of ethylene inhibitors, silver nitrate (AgNO3) and cobalt chloride (CoCl2) on in vitro shoot regeneration of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill. cv. Omdurman) was investigated. Shoot development was induced on shoot tip explant cultured on MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with kinetin (Kn) at 4.0 mg/l. Addition of CoCl2 and AgNO3 to the medium enhanced regeneration frequency as well as number of shoots obtained per explant. The best results (2.4 and 2.3) for the number of shoot per explant were obtained by using CoCl2 at 3.0 mg/L and AgNO3 at 5.0 mg/l, respectively. 100% of the in vitro induced shoots produced roots when cultured on half and full strength MS medium without growth regulators. The highest number of rooted micro shoots (22± 0.9) was obtained on half strength MS media agar-solidified and supplemented with 0.5 mg/l Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA). On the other hand, the longest root (7.4 ± 0.9 cm) was obtained on the same medium supplemented with 0.1 or 0.5 mg/l IBA. Rooted plants were hardened and 95% survived under greenhouse conditions.

Most of the crop plants have large and complex genomes. Maize and wheat genomes have a size of 2300 Mb and 16500 Mb respectively. Until recently the sequencing of these complex genomes was considered intractable. But now the genome sequencing technology is undergoing a revolution with the commercialization of second generation technologies capable of sequencing millions of bases in a single run. In the coming years these technologies will further add to the available information regarding the genomes. The second generation sequencing technologies have already been commercialized and the third generations sequencing strategies will be available soon in the near future. Within no time the toughest genomes like that of wheat will be available for utilization in crop improvement. The resulting information about the genes and molecular markers will revolutionize the crop breeding program if this information is applied to our advanced genotyping methodologies.

The present investigation was carried out during kharief- 2005 at the Research Farm, Division of Plant Breeding and Genetics, SKUAST-Jammu, Main Campus Chatha. The experimental material for the present investigation comprised of sixteen genotypes of rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in a randomized block design with three replications. The study revealed that genotypes differed significantly among themselves for all the characters viz., morpho-physiological, biochemical, yield and yield attributing traits. A wide range of phenotypic variability was observed in most of the characters but was quite high for plant height, number of productivity tillers, harvest index, flag leaf area, crop growth rate (CGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR). The phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation revealed that there was good agreement between these two parameters. A number of characters such as flag leaf area, harvest index, grain yield, 1000 grain weight, peroxidase, leaf area duration (LAD) and -amylase showed high genotypic coefficient of variation as compared to others. Apart from showing high genetic variability plant traits viz., plant height, flag leaf area, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, days to 50% flowering, kernel density, biomass yield, number of productive tillers, harvest index, CGR, RGR, NAR, LAD, peroxidase and -amylase showed moderate to high heritability coupled with moderate to high genetics advance. Mahalonabis’s D2-statistic analysis revealed considerable amount of diversity in the material. Sixteen genotypes were grouped into six heterogenous clusters. Among these clusters, clusters B and cluster C had maximum number of genotypes (five each). The maximum average inter-cluster distance was recorded between cluster C and cluster F and minimum between cluster E and cluster F. Hence the selected material could be further utilized for future breeding programme

In this paper, a test pattern compaction algorithms for simple combinational circuits is proposed. It generates test pattern and simulate faults. Fault diagnosis is an important part of failure analysis. The fault diagnosis procedure considered here selects a set of faults and a set of tests. It stores fault simulation results in a fault dictionary and compares dictionary entries against observed faulty behaviors. It adopts fault based test minimization for simple two stage combinational circuits. Proposed Algorithm minimizes the number of test cases based on the number of faults detected. The problem of finding faults and diagnosis consists of two sub problems. The first problem is the determination of possible list of faults. It may include all possible single faults and multiple faults that may occur in a circuit. The second sub problem is minimizing number of tests to be performed to cover all the faults. The job of the proposed algorithm is to find essential tests from all possible test cases. The algorithm is implemented and sample boolean expressions in sum of product forms for sample circuits are experimented. The results obtained are tabulated and plotted. The time and space complexity of the algorithm are measured. From the results, it is observed that the execution time of the algorithm is linear. It increases with the increase in the number of gates in the given circuit. Test reduction upto 99% is observed. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with adaptive scheduled fault detection method, and found to be better in terms of reduction in number of tests and processor time it consumes.

Based on survey in Marathwada the different visited places are Parli-Vaijnatth, Saradgaon, Mahur, Dahelitanda, Tuppa, Degloor, Nandurves, Loni, Kinwat etc. Author collected the traditional knowledge from local inhabitants modes of application of the medicinal plants and plant parts utilized by local inhabitants are given with their names.

Marker is a tag which is conspicuous or apparent or which helps in identification of traits. There are three different types of markers viz., morphological, biochemical and molecular. Morphological markers have certain constraints i.e. narrow diversity, influenced by environment, problem with epistasis, pleiotropy, incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity. Biochemical markers reveal polymorphism of sequences of certain proteins. It has certain constraints like redundancy of genetic code, incomplete genomic coverage and also sensitive to environmental pressures. Molecular markers directly reveal the polymorphism at the level of DNA. These are tags that can be used to identify specific genes and locate them in relation to other genes.