216 research outputs found
Ischaemum dioecum Landge & R. D. Shinde 2022, sp. nov.
No full textIschaemum dioecum Landge & R. D. Shinde, sp. nov. (Figs. 1, 2 & 3) Type:— INDIA. Maharashtra state: Raigad district, near Patanus village, 8 August 2021, 18°26’51.7”N 73°22’17.1”E, Shahid Nawaz PR-01 A (BLAT) [ holotype ]; isotype: Shahid Nawaz PR-01 B (BLAT) [pistillate plant specimens]. Diagnosis:—Ephemeral habit, up to 20 cm high, with numerous stilt-roots from nodes; dioecious breeding system; leaves long, hispid, acute at the base and petioled; lower glume of the sessile and pedicelled spikelet (if present) 2–4- nerved; lower floret in the sessile spikelet absent or if present then barren, elodiculate and epaleate; upper floret of the staminate plant is lodiculate (lodicules giant, ca. 3.5 mm long) bearing four stamens with anthers 6.0– 10 mm long on an extremely filiform and extraordinarily elongated filaments ca. 15 mm long; upper floret of the pistillate plant is elodiculate with unusually long style ca. 14 mm long with two plumose stigma, purplish, 6.0–10 (–14) m long; peduncle in staminate plant glandular beset with tubercle-based trichomes; palea apex bi-dentate most often with a central arista; pedicelled spikelet (if present) half as long as the sessile spikelet, barren, reduced to a single glume; pedicel 1/2–4/5 of the sessile spikelet, slender, linear glabrous or ciliate on the margin. Description:—Male plant: Ephemeral, ca. 20 cm, geniculately ascending, non-caespitose, extremely delicate, weak and slender with numerous maroonish-red stilt-roots (roots very delicate and may easily break) from the nodes bearing micro papillae near the base. Leaf blade linear, acuminate, very thin membranous, hispid, 2.0–5.0 × 0.3– 0.5 cm, acute at the base with a long pseudopetiole (ca. 1.5 cm long), puberulous. Ligule ca. 3.0–4.0 mm long, oblong-lanceolate, membranous, lacerated at the apex into few segments, hairy on the margin or not. Sheath very slender, terete, striated, glabrous, margin sub-hyaline-membranous strongly overlapping, 1.0– 3.5 cm long, not keeled. Inflorescence a solitary spiciform-raceme fully exserted from the spathaceous sheath. Peduncle broad, somewhat swollen bearing tubercle-based bristles, elongated, with glandular depressions oozing a dense brownish viscous fluid. Spiciform-raceme ca. 28–42 mm long, solitary, comprising three well developed sessile spikelets with bare pedicels (on maturity deciduous together with the adjacent rhachis internode and pedicel) pedicelled spikelets are sometimes present but by a single, reduced glume. Sessile spikelet: linear-oblong, awnless, 9.0–12 (–13) mm long (including a callus); callus, ca. 1.2–2.2 mm long, densely bearded with white hairs (i.e. 6.0–9.0 mm long), reaching up to the middle of the sessile spikelet; lower glume: linear-oblong, 8.0–10 (–13) × 2.0–3.0 (3.5) mm, slightly longer than the upper glume, convex base wards and flattened upwards, initially herbaceous-membranous and later becoming somewhat coriaceous, scabrous, puberulous or glabrous, apex acute, 2–4-nerved (only 2 clearly visible other two obscure), nerves not anastomosing, margin evenly inflexed throughout the length, sharply keeled upwards, glabrous, no trace of nodulations and rugosity; upper glume: linear-lanceolate, 7.0–9.0 (–12) × 2.2–3.3 (–3.8) mm, 1–3-nerved, glabrous, acute, naviculate, keeled, slightly winged near the apex, ciliate, margins inflexed. Floret: lower floret is absent only upper floret is present, staminate: lemma linear-lanceolate, almost equal to upper glume in length but narrower, 3-nerved, glabrous, hyaline-membranous, acute, un-awned; palea linear long obspatulate, sub-equal to its lemma, broadest at the base, hyaline-membranous, 3-nerved, apex bi-dentate (often with a distinct arista from the sinus (excurrent mid-nerve), arista ca. 3.0– 4.5 mm long), glabrous. Pedicelled spikelet: Absent most of the times, if present then by a single 2-nerved reduced glume ca. 5.0 mm long. Pedicel linear, slender, 7.0– 10 mm long, ciliate on both the angles or completely glabrous. Rhachis internode sub-equal to the pedicel and almost identical in shape, ciliate on both the angles or completely glabrous, fragile and articulate. Stamens four, filaments slender, drooping, considerably elongated during anthesis reaching ca. 15 mm long; anthers 6.0– 10 mm long, orangish-yellow, exhibiting both lateral and apical dehiscence. Lodicules fleshy, sub-hyaline, clavate, sharply oblique at the apex, ca. 3.5 mm long. Pedicelled spikelets short almost reduced to a glume, barren or absent altogether. Female plant: An extremely slender, delicate, geniculately ascending, stilt-rooted, non-caespitose ephemeral grass, 10–14 cm high. Culm solitary, weak, un-branched, striated, up to 12-noded, hardly exceeding 0.6 mm diameter; the root system is extremely shallow; internodes as long as the sheath or slightly longer, terete; nodes swollen, glabrous, some lower and few upper ones with stilt roots up to about half the length of the plant. Sheaths 0.8–2.5 cm long, terete, glabrous or setaceous near the margin with bulbousbased trichomes (ca. 3.0 mm long), tightly en-clasping and disintegrating in the lower portion of the culm during anthesis, sheath near the inflorescence is quite broad, somewhat ribbed, slipping-off and slightly laterally compressed. Ligule membranous, ca. 1.0 mm long, slightly brownish, obtuse to somewhat truncate at the apex with appressed white hairs on the adaxial side. Blade: lower linear-lanceolate longer than the upper ones, 0.8–2.0 × 0.2–0.3 cm, the ones about the inflorescence are ovate-elliptic to slightly oblongish in outline, beset with bulbous-based trichomes (1.0– 1.5 mm long) on both the surfaces, margins uniseriately-pectinate. Inflorescence a highly reduced, solitary (with a triad of one sessile spikelet and two bare pedicels, sometimes with a single glume) or binate (each spiciform-raceme is reduced to only single sessile spikelet accompanied by a barren pedicel) spiciform-raceme, 5.0– 5.6 mm long, almost completely subtended by a spathaceous sheath; fragile on maturity and sessile spikelets deciduous together with the adjacent rhachis internode and pedicel. Peduncle very short, slender, clavate, glabrous, rarely more than 10 mm long, apex dilated and broad. Spikelets either sessile or in a combination of one sessile and other pedicelled (often reduced to a single, barren glume) in a raceme. Sessile spikelet: ovate-lanceolate, 5.0– 5.6 mm long (including a callus), strictly pistillate; callus 0.8–1.0 mm long, slightly oblique, broad, bearded with white hairs almost reaching the middle of the sessile spikelet; lower glume: ovate-lanceolate, 5.0–5.6 × 1.5–1.8 mm (un-opened, broadest near the base), slightly shorter than the upper glume, initially herbaceous-membranous and later becoming somewhat coriaceous, convex towards the base with two bosses and flattened upwards (sometimes with two shallow bosses in the middle and below), glabrous or hairy on the back, apex acute to somewhat bi-dentate with a short hyaline portion, 2–4-nerved (only two clearly visible others obscure), nerves not anastomosing, margins glabrous, broadly and evenly inflexed throughout the length, keels acute, no trace of nodulations and rugosity; upper glume: ovate-lanceolate, 5.1–5.7 × 1.5–1.8 mm (broadest at the base), navicular, keel herbaceous, 3-nerved, glabrous, sub-hylaine, apex acute, devoid of a hump in the middle, margin hyaline, glabrous and inflexed; lower floret: entirely absent (if present then barren and is only represented by an epaleate lemma which is ovate-lanceolate, 3.2 mm long (broadest near the base), barren, without lodicules, glabrous, hyaline-membranous, 1–3-nerved, apex obtuse or slightly oblique); upper floret: strictly female/ pistillate, elodiculate: upper lemma linear-lanceolate, 4.0–5.4 × 0.8–1.0 mm, sub-equal to lower glume, paleate, bi-fid (lobes acuminate, 1.8–2.5 mm long), glabrous, awn geniculate issuing from the sinus, 12.5 mm long (column brown 5.0 mm long and bristle pale, scabrid, 7.5 mm long), slightly humped in the middle on the dorsal side; upper palea: very linear, almost obspatulate with a broad base (enclosing an ovary) and linear upper portion, 3.0–4.0 × 0.3–0.4 mm (broadest at the base), very delicate, hyaline-membranous, margin inflexed, broader at the base, glabrous, apex bidentate (often shortly mucronate from the sinus (excurrent mid-nerve), mucro ca. 1.0–2.0 mm long), finely 3-nerved; pistil: ovary ovoid, 1.0 mm long, style ca. 14 mm long (when young, highly coiled inside the spikelet), two stigma plumose, purplish, 6.0–10 (–14) mm long; lodicules absent; caryopsis not seen. Pedicelled spikelet: represented only by a bare pedicel, which is extremely narrow, not swollen, linear, 3.2–4.0 × 0.2–0.3 mm, unusually long, flattened, excavated throughout on the inner angle, confluent into the callus, hairy along the margins or completely glabrous, apex densely bearded or with a calloid outgrowth, mostly devoid of pedicelled spikelet sometimes with a single lower glume (un-identical to the lower glume of sessile spikelet, linear-elliptic 3.2 mm long, 2–4-nerved (only two are clearly visible), sub-hyaline, herbaceous, convex on the back and apex bi-dentate). Distribution:—Hitherto, based on our surveys, the species has been observed only in a couple of localities i.e. near Patanus village and Rawalje village, Raigad District, Maharashtra (Western Ghats), India. Ischaemum dioecum is apparently an extremely rare and narrow endemic species in the genus. Flowering and fruiting:—August to mid September (life cycle of individuals hardly exceeding 20 days). Additional specimen examined:— INDIA. Maharashtra state: Raigad district, near Rawalje village, 24 August 2021, 18°26’36.9”N 73°21’29.0”E, Shahid Nawaz RR-05 (BLAT) [staminate plant specimen, spikelets were removed for the study]. Habitats and ecology:—In complex network of dense roots mingled with seasonally wet thin film of soil at the base of other taller grass species such as: Ischaemum diplopogon Hooker (1896: 129), Heteropogon ritchiei & Dimeria blatteri Bor (1949: 70), on the flank of the river associated with rocky outcrops and on the slope of basalt rocks. The microhabitats are protected from the direct sunlight, wind and precipitation; thus are special with their own specific environmental conditions that include moisture, temperature and light. These factors are regulated by the presence of benefactor species (three mentioned above) from directly influencing I. dioecum therefore contributing positively in survival of this species. In the late October, when monsoon subsides, the resultant heat generated by the basalt rocks, on prolonged exposure to sunlight is immense; eradicating all the annual and transient vegetation cover. In such challenging habitats, plants that are acclimatized rapidly complete their life cycle by bearing seeds. In which I. dioecum has the shortest life cycle, hardly exceeding 20 days! Associated species:— Arundinella pumila Steudel (1854: 114), Heteropogon ritchiei, Ischaemum diplopogon, Dimeria blatteri, Ischaemum barbatum Retzius (1791: 35), I. semisagittatum Roxburgh (1832: 320), Ischaemum sp., Geissaspis sp. Etymology:—The epithet alludes to a dioecious breeding system of the species, where male and female plants are sexually separate individuals. Population and threat:—In the first locality the habitats are encroached and disturbed by tourists visiting Devkund waterfall during monsoon when the individuals are in flowering. The first author has also observed that the shallow shores of the river attract many villagers especially women for washing clothes. However, the second locality is far from the reach, at least for villagers and their livestock. The basalt slopes make the domestic quadrupeds unable to climb and disturb the thin population of Ischaemum dioecum. These basalt habitats, during monsoon, are extremely slippery and difficult to climb upon. At least because of this, there the population of this extremely rare grass is, perhaps, on a small magnitude, protected. However, in this habitats Celosia sp. is very troublesome and exhibits a great possession. It may threat the existence of this species in future. IUCN status:—Based on our field observations, it can be asserted that the population is severely fragmented and confined over the two localities (Figs. 3 & 4) few kilometers apart from each other. The type locality exhibits tourist encroachment and disturbance. The total number of individuals in both the subpopulations is less than 25 in which female plants are relatively higher in numbers as compared to the male counterparts. The observed data suggests 7 male individuals over 18 female individuals. Hitherto, based on the limited surveys, data is not available to discuss declination thus those categories and criteria cannot be assessed. We have not seen Ischaemum dioecum in any other locality except the two given though surveyed the region more or less for almost a month during monsoon. Based on this it is perhaps not too quick to assess the plant as Critically Endangered (CR) under B1 (Extent of occurrence <100 km 2), D (mature individuals <50) of IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria (2019). Notes:—Since, the species is extremely delicate, slender, weak and non-tufted, it demands an additional support from the stilt-roots, that are present up to almost half of the plant height assisting it to stand upright without falling. In some specimens stilt-roots are present till the last node i.e. below the inflorescence, and may measure up to 12 cm high. The staminate and pistillate plants differed quite sufficiently in appearance of the inflorescence that one might easily mistake them for members of different species! The most striking contrast between the two is that the formers are essentially awnless, whilst those of the pistillate plants bear conspicuous awns (Figs. 1 & 2). The features that are common in both plants are such as: solitary habit with stilt-roots; leaves thin-membranous, hispid, long, petioled and acute at the base; ligule membranous; few spikelets up to three or less than three in the spiciform-raceme; 2–4-nerved lower glumes of the sessile spikelets; lower floret absent; upper palea bi-dentate at the apex with an arista from the sinus and pedicelled spikelets absent or reduced to a single glume i.e. half the length of the sessile spikelets. Females in comparison to males are, at least somewhat, easier to search in the field and tend to exist in a relatively higher numbers. Whilst, the male plants are very few and extremely rare in occurrence and challenging to trace; so far, we, during our surveys, found only few male plants in which only two were collected for further study. As compared to the female plants, males are slightly taller, more delicate, bearing thinner leaves and higher number of stilt-roots.Published as part of Landge, Shahid Nawaz & Shinde, Rajendra D., 2022, Ischaemum dioecum (Poaceae: Andropogoneae): the most strangest new species from Northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India, pp. 237-255 in Phytotaxa 533 (5) on pages 239-242, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.533.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/614492
Chloris montana Roxburgh 1832
No full textChloris montana Roxburgh (1832: 329). Lectotype (hic designatus):—[Illustration] Roxburgh Icon (inedit.) No. 882 [Figure 1 in the middle and its dissected spikelet on the lower left-hand-side], (https://archive.bsi.gov.in/botanical-details?link=549T3936S79423IX, CAL icon!) (Fig. 1). Notes on lectotypification:— Roxburgh (1832), for his new species Chloris montana, merely cited the locality as “This is a native of mountainous tracts only”; he neither cited nor indicated any collection or illustration. In order to typify the preceding species name, searches for the specimen(s) used by him were made in several herbaria, viz., A, B, BM, BR, C, E, G, K, FI, G, LIV, NY, OXF, P, PH, TCD, and UPS in which many of Roxburgh’s collections are housed (Stapfleu & Cowan 1983, Robinson 2008). However, no suitable specimen was located. Alternatively, since Roxburgh’s Flora Indica drawings housed at CAL and K can serve as the original materials for the typification of Roxburgh species names, we looked for an appropriate uncited drawing. In this regard, we located Roxburgh’s icon No. 882 (inedit.) at CAL. The drawing of floral parts with annotations by the author certainly agrees well with the description of C. montana and depicts the species characters adequately. The (Fig. 1) shows characteristic villous peduncle (albeit in the field some forms also exhibit completely glabrous peduncle), non-spherical and non-inflated glabrous sterile florets—are in combination constitute distinguishing features of this species. Since no known original specimen seems to exist, this illustration (No. 882) is perfectly agreeing with the protologue is selected as the lectotype of C. montana in conformity with an Art. 9.12, Schenzen Code (Turland et al. 2018).Published as part of Landge, Shahid Nawaz & Shinde, Rajendra D., 2022, Lectotypification of Chloris montana (Poaceae: Chloridoideae) and taxonomic notes on a few species from India, pp. 243-252 in Phytotaxa 550 (3) on page 244, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.550.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/665099
Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss and need of blood transfusion in total knee arthroplasty: A prospective, randomized, double-blind study in Indian population
No full textIntroduction: For quite a few years, tranexamic acid (TEA) has been used during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to reduce blood loss. However, no consensus exits regarding its timing and doses. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized double-blinded study of 56 patients in the Indian population undergoing TKA from 2011 to 2012. A dose of 10 mg/kg body weight of TEA (three doses) was given in one group and normal saline was administered in the other. Results: The mean blood loss in the TEA unilateral group was 295 mL ± 218 mL and in the placebo group was 482 mL ± 186 mL (P < 0.005). In the bilateral TEA group, the mean blood loss was 596 mL ± 235 mL and in the placebo group was 1349 mL ± 41 mL (P < 0.005). Conclusion: The number of patients requiring blood transfusion reduced substantially. There was no increase in the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism. TEA reduces intraoperative and postoperative blood loss and thus reduces the need of allogenic blood transfusion
Immunosuppressive and cytotoxic potential of aqueous leaves extract of Thlaspi arvense
No full textMedicinal plants are traditionally used in Asian countries for treatment of various intracellular as well as extracellular infections. The present study was undertaken to investigate Thlaspi arvense for determining its immunosuppressive potential and cytotoxic activity in infected lysed human whole blood samples. For these studies, virally infected human whole blood samples (n = 5; symptoms such as sneezing, cough etc.) were collected and analysing its cytotoxicity of variable doses of aqueous leaves extract of Thlaspi arvense in the form of proliferation using Concanavalin (Con A; 2.5 µg/ml). In addition, immunosuppressive activity was also determined using lysed human whole blood samples were incubated with variable doses of aqueous extract in presence or absence of incomplete freunds adjuvant (IFA) pertaining to determine the total cellular (protein) content. In contrast, in vitro studies of aqueous extract of Thlaspi arvense were also determined using lactoferrin (100 µg/well) and ovalbumin (OVA, 100 µg/well) as coating antigen pertaining to antibody production using Elisa. The results showed that aqueous leaves extract of Thlaspi arvense showed markedly decline in Con A proliferation at higher doses. In addition, this aqueous extract also showed decline in total cellular content in presence or absence of IFA but it showed enhancement in antibody production in vitro against lactoferrin and OVA at higher doses. Overall the data showed that aqueous leaves extract of Thlaspi arvense displayed immunosuppressive and cytotoxic effect in virally infected human whole blood samples
Functionalisation of fibrous polymer surfaces for catalytic applications
No full textThis thesis investigates the immobilisation of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase on flexible, fibrous polymeric supports. An optimised construct was developed into a biosensor and also successfully translated into a flow reactor for the detection of ethanol
Modeling Frameworks for Supply Chain Analytics
No full textabstract: Supply chains are increasingly complex as companies branch out into newer products and markets. In many cases, multiple products with moderate differences in performance and price compete for the same unit of demand. Simultaneous occurrences of multiple scenarios (competitive, disruptive, regulatory, economic, etc.), coupled with business decisions (pricing, product introduction, etc.) can drastically change demand structures within a short period of time. Furthermore, product obsolescence and cannibalization are real concerns due to short product life cycles. Analytical tools that can handle this complexity are important to quantify the impact of business scenarios/decisions on supply chain performance. Traditional analysis methods struggle in this environment of large, complex datasets with hundreds of features becoming the norm in supply chains. We present an empirical analysis framework termed Scenario Trees that provides a novel representation for impulse and delayed scenario events and a direction for modeling multivariate constrained responses. Amongst potential learners, supervised learners and feature extraction strategies based on tree-based ensembles are employed to extract the most impactful scenarios and predict their outcome on metrics at different product hierarchies. These models are able to provide accurate predictions in modeling environments characterized by incomplete datasets due to product substitution, missing values, outliers, redundant features, mixed variables and nonlinear interaction effects. Graphical model summaries are generated to aid model understanding. Models in complex environments benefit from feature selection methods that extract non-redundant feature subsets from the data. Additional model simplification can be achieved by extracting specific levels/values that contribute to variable importance. We propose and evaluate new analytical methods to address this problem of feature value selection and study their comparative performance using simulated datasets. We show that supply chain surveillance can be structured as a feature value selection problem. For situations such as new product introduction, a bottom-up approach to scenario analysis is designed using an agent-based simulation and data mining framework. This simulation engine envelopes utility theory, discrete choice models and diffusion theory and acts as a test bed for enacting different business scenarios. We demonstrate the use of machine learning algorithms to analyze scenarios and generate graphical summaries to aid decision making.Dissertation/ThesisPh.D. Industrial Engineering 201
Institutional Innovation: Case study of sustenance of solar electrification projects in Rural India: Innovating institutions with technological innovations
No full textMore than 200 million Indians are without electricity, and the majority lies in the rural areas, where the central grid fails to reach due to unreliable distribution and inconsistent terrain. The solutions that reach include majorly, decentralized energy resources via solar micro-grids, or solar home systems. New projects of energy sharing are coming up which allows a household to become a consumer, as well as a producer of energy in case of excess and sell it to make profit. But these projects fail within few years due to number of social, technical, cultural, political, and environmental dynamic factors playing role in the community. Thus, the research question is raised that “Given the dynamics of rural communities of India, how can socio-technical systems of solar electrification be sustained?" This project develops an institutional innovation framework that helps answer this question. The framework is conceptualized and operationalized to understand that how the institutions around these factors can be changed by the community and individual actions in such socio-technical innovations and infrastructure systems. The study follows empirical analysis and develops simulation model (agent based model) for the case study of rural solar electrification in India, which helps in developing the institutions. The case study and the framework together emphasizes the importance of the institutional innovation approach, where institutions need to be adapted and diffused within the community to make the sustenance of the project possible in various domains. The final results show that new type of projects, labelled as hybrid projects, would be most sustained. These would be sharing projects and would only use the existing micro grids, when there is higher demand. Also, it emphasizes on the need to look at institutions development, not just as a collective perspective which happens with interactions of actions, but also a perspective of majority or collection of actions. The policies generated at two levels of usage (prioritization of resource usage, constraints on resource usage, etc.), and for acceptance of innovations (co-operative shops, in-house manufacturing, etc.) prove to help the sustenance of these electrification systems further
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