B. K. Mishra

Evaluation of Rice Genotypes for Resistance against False Smut of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Middle IGP of Bihar

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a vital world commodity as it is the staple food of about half of the world population. It is the primary source of energy and protein for 4.5 billion peoples in the most populous nations of Asia. Rice is cultivated under diverse ecologies, ranging from irrigated to rain-fed and upland to lowland and deep water system (Kumar et al., 2014). False smut (green smut or pseudo smut) of rice caused by Ustilaginoidea virens (Cooke) Takahashi has long been considered as minor disease. However, more recently epidemics have been reported with increasing frequency in different parts of world because of the large scale expansion of high yielding cultivars, the use of chemical fertilizers, irrigation at high levels and climate change. The disease causes reduction not only in quality and quantity of the produce, but also reduces the germination vigour of the infected seedlings (Sanghera et al., 2012). The damage by disease includes the contamination of grains and straw with ustiloxins, the mycotoxins produced by U. virens on diseased tissues and the antimitotic cyclic peptides from its chlamydospores, which are poisonous to both humans and animals (Nakamura et al., 1994). The symptoms of the International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 4 (2017) pp. 537-543 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

Fatigue Crack Growth Simulations in Ductile Materials by Coupled FE-EFG Approach

In this paper, a coupled finite element (FE) and element free Galerkin (EFG) approach is presented for the simulation of fatigue crack growth problems. The problem domain is subdivided into two regions i.e. EFG region and FE region. A ramp function is used in the transition region to obtain the resultant shape functions. This approach effectively handles the crack growth problems without remeshing, and is found computationally more efficient than other meshfree methods. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by simulating material interface fatigue crack growth problems. These simulations show that the results obtained by coupled approach are in good agreement with the XFEM results.

Comparative study of anatomical specimens using plastination by araldite HY103, polypropylene resin, 6170H19 Orthocryl and silicone – A qualitative study

BACKGROUNDnMost of the organs and tissues are preserved in formalin with its own set of disadvantages. Plastination is a unique method of permanently preserving tissue in a life like state. Plastination developed by western authorities is a labour and equipment intensive affair. Most common polymer used is S10, however this study uses easily available alternative polymers for plastination.nnnMETHODnVarious polymers like Epoxy resins, Polypropylene resins, Orthocryl and silicone were used in plastinating the anatomical specimens. Specific methods were used for solid, hollow organs and brain specimens. The specimens were made to undergo stages of fixation, dehydration, impregnation and curing. The results were studied and interpreted under various parameters.nnnRESULTSnThe results were interpreted under various parameters like shrinkage, retention of colour, odour, pliability and retention of gross anatomy. The study concluded that Orthocryl and Epoxy resins retained maximum colour with minimal shrinkage while maximum discolouration was with polypropylene plastinates. Brain sections were best preserved in Orthocryl.nnnCONCLUSIONnThe study concluded that indigenous methods and materials can produce quality plastinates which can be an important adjunct to traditional methods of teaching however more studies need to be done for refinement.