eChapters

Introduction

Natural evolution gifted the biological world a treasure of diverse bio-molecules that take part in various cellular activities. Proteins, one of the vital molecules of biological function are wisely folded polymers comprising 20 different aminoacids. Function of each protein is encoded in its aminoacid sequence. Aminoacid residues can indulge in bonded or non-bonded interactions depending on the environment. These inter residue interactions with in a polypeptide drive its folding in to a compact conformation from a linear molecule. Biochemical properties as well as the linear arrangement of the aminoacids determines the three dimensional structure of a protein. These determinants of defined structure directly or indirectly dictates functional fate of the folded protein also.

INTRODUCTION

Gloriosa is commonly known as glory or gloriosa lily. Gloriosa lilies have assumed an important place in flower trade and are widely grown for cut flower and tuber production both in USA and Europe. Gloriosa lily is the national flower emblem of Zambia. Their cut flower stems last well in summer heat and their buds take lon time to open after picking. The bright vibrant and intense, red, gold, lemon and pink flower colours and the lush green leaves of gloriosa lilies bring a sense of the tropics or festivity to room. They combine well with many other flowers from roses to heliconias. Gloriosa blooms make perfect posies for the office desk, bedside cabinets or small tables and shelves. The stiff stems of gloriosa and their ability to hold their form out of water for a longer time make them ideal for out of water floral installation work. They are light climbers and are suitable for training on low walls or trellis. With proper trailing they can also be grown in pots. Its flowers are fascinating and its tubers and seeds have great medicinal value. The tubers are rich in alkaloids. Colchicine has been obtained from various plant parts viz., young leaves, flowers, old leaves, tubers, seeds and stems.

1. Decorticator is used for shelling pods in

   a) Bhendi

   b) Maize

   c) Groundnut

   d) Sunflower

2. Debearders are used in processing of

   a) Barley

   b) Oats

   c) Wheat

   d) Rice

Pathology of Endocrine System

Pathology of Hypothalamus

The lesions in hypothalamus may cause diabetes insipidus characterized by polydipsia and polyuria with low specific gravity of urine. It occurs due to deficiency of antidiuretic hormone vasopressin.

Etiology/ Occurrence

• Lesions in hypothalamus and/or pituitary.

• Adenoma and adenocarcinoma of pituitary.

• Necrosis of hypothalamic nuclei due to larval migration.

Pasteurella and Mannheimia species are small (0.2 x 1-2 μm) non-motile, Gramnegative rods or coccobacilli. They are oxidase-positive facultative anaerobes, and most species are catalase-positive. Although non-enriched media will support their growth, these organisms grow best on media supplemented with blood or serum. They usually remain viable for only a few days on culture plates.
Some species, such as Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella trehalosi and P. aerogenes can tolerate the bile salts in MacConkey agar. In smears from infected tissues stained by the Giemsa method, pasteurellae exhibit bipolar staining.
The family Pasteurellaceae comprises five genera, Actinobacillus, Haemophilus, Mannheimia, Pasteurella and Lonepinella. These genera share a number of common features and some organisms have been reclassified within these genera following deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization studies and 16s rRNA sequencing.
The pasteurellae are small (0. 2 μm by up to 2.0 μm), Gram-negative rods or coccobacilli. They are nonmotile,non-sporing, facultatively anaerobic, fermentative(except for P. anatipesrijer), oxidase-positive andcatalase - positive (except for P. caballi). Althoughunenriched media support their growth, they grow beston media supplemented with serum or blood.
Recent Changes in Nomenclature
Previous name Present name
Pasteurella ureae Actinobacillus ureae
Haemophilus avium Pasteurella avium
Pasteurella pneumotropica Pasteurella dogmatis
(Henriksen biotype)

Fodder serves as the foundational element of livestock nutrition within natural farming frameworks. Providing animals with a consistent, nutritious, and chemical-free fodder supply throughout the year is essential to maintaining their health, optimizing productivity, and ensuring long-term sustainability. In contrast to commercial models that often depend on externally sourced feed concentrates, natural farming promotes the cultivation of fodder on-farm through organic and regenerative practices. India’s fodder supply is typically divided into the following categories:
• Green Fodder: This includes grasses like Napier, Guinea, and Dinanath, as well as legumes such as Berseem, Lucerne, and Cowpea, and nutrient-rich tree leaves from Moringa, Subabul, and Neem.
• Dry Fodder: Comprising crop residues like wheat straw, paddy straw, maize stalks, and groundnut haulms.
• Pasture and Forest Grazing: Utilization of common lands, silvopasture systems, and forest areas for grazing.
• Fodder Trees and Hedges: Protein-rich varieties like Gliricidia, Sesbania, and Leucaena, which also enhance soil fertility.
In natural farming, fodder crops are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Farmers enrich soil and seeds with preparations like Jeevamrit and Beejamrit. Mulching helps conserve soil moisture, suppress weed growth, and foster microbial activity. Intercropping and crop rotation with cereals and legumes maintain ecological balance and soil vitality. Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) methods integrate livestock with crop cycles to regenerate fodder naturally.
The establishment of fodder banks and use of staggered sowing patterns ensures a steady supply even during off-seasons. In arid regions, drought-tolerant and native fodder varieties are prioritized to uphold fodder security.

Polymeric nanoparticles are nanoparticles which are prepared from polymers. The drug is dissolved, entrapped, encapsulated or attached to nanoparticles and depending upon the method of preparation, nanoparticles, nanospheres or nanocapsules can be obtained. Nanocapsules are vesicular systems in which the drug is confined to a cavity surrounded by a polymer membrane, while nanospheres are matrix systems in which the drug is physically and uniformly dispersed.

In recent years, biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles have attracted considerable attention as potential drug delivery devices in view of their applications in drug targeting to particular organs/tissues, as carriers of DNA in gene therapy, and in their ability to deliver proteins, peptides and genes through oral route of administration.

In spite of development of various synthetic and semi synthetic polymers, natural polymers still enjoy their popularity in drug delivery, some of them are: gums (Eg. Acacia, Guar, etc.,) chitosan, gelatin, sodium alginate, and albumin. A range of materials have been employed to delivery of bioactive agents. A polymer used in controlled drug delivery formulation, must be chemically inert, non-toxic and free of leachable impurities. It must also have an appropriate physical structure, with minimal undesired aging, and be readily processable. Some of the polymeric materials are: cellulosics., poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(acrylic acid), polyacrylamide, poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate), poly(ethylene glycol), poly(methacrylic acid).

Goats are used primarily for milk and meat production, but their skin is also a valuable by- product. Goats are an important source of hides and skin . The term hide is used to denote the outer covering of large animals such as cows, buffaloes, horses ,sheep, camel etc. The term “Skin” is applied to that of smaller animals such as sheep, goats , calves etc. Raw hides and skins are used mainly for the manufacture of leather.Goat skin is in great demand for making leather gloves , shoes , luggage, book covers etc.Goat skin was also used in many of the musical instruments .Goat skin has been used since time immemorial as water-containers. The water containers from goat skin were called “Mushk” and the person carrying such containers as “Bhisti”.Pelt is undressed skin of sheep & goats. To prevent putrefication, the skin is treated as well as preserved by dry salting and are graded according to curled type quality of the skin.

The Leather Industry holds a prominent place in the Indian economy. India produces 13.14% of the goat skin production of the world.This sector is known for its consistency in high export earnings and it is among the top ten foreign exchange earners for the country. With an annual turnover of over US$ 7 billion, the export of leather and leather products increased manifold over the past decades and touched US$ 3.40 billion in 2009-10; recording a cumulative annual growth rate of about 5.43% (5 years).It is estimaed that 72.3 million goat skins were produced in India in 2008 (FAOSTAT). India ranks second among the goat skin producing countries of the world, second only to China. India produced 130 thousand tones of goat skin in 2008 ( FAOSTAT) against China producing 351.7 thousand tones and Pakistan 94 thousand tonnes (FAO Stat).

The major production centers for leather and leather products are located in Tamil Nadu - Chennai, Ambur, Ranipet, Vaniyambadi, Trichy, Dindigul ; West Bengal –Kolkata ; Uttar Pradesh –Kanpur, Agra & Noida ; Maharashtra –Mumbai; Punjab –Jallandhar ; Karnataka –Bangalore ; Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad ; Haryana - Ambala, Gurgaon, Panchkula and Karnal; Delhi. India is the second largest producer of leather footwear and garments in the world.

In this chapter we will look at the Expert system which can guide and assist an individual once it is provided with the enough Knowledge to do so. Here we will discuss about expert system and its architecture with proper steps of making an expert system in any field by several tools which are available to do so. For expert systems the most important is Knowledge Engineering which is the collection of Knowledge from an expert and Engineering it in such a form that a machine could understand it.

Introduction

One of the pioneering fields of AI study is Expert Systems (ES). It is proposed by researchers in the computer science department of Stanford University. An expert system is a computer system which emulates a human expert’s decision-making skills. Expert systems are developed by reasoning through information structures, representing laws, rather than through traditional procedural code, in order to overcome complex problems.

Expert Programs use professional expertise systematically to address human expert problems. An expert is an individual with experience in a specific field. The expert has expertise or special credentials which most people do not learn or care about. An expert can solve or solve problems more effectively than people can solve. Expert System actually emulates all these qualities of expert and solve the problem in a better way and fast.

Today, Expert System (ES) is used in the fields of finance, research, engineering, technology, medicine and many others where there is a well-defined problem area. The fundamental principle is that an expert method should also define the steps to illustrate why a problem can be solved. Unless an individual can justify his reasoning for Expert System.

Limitations of Bacteria

• Normally genetically engineered bacteria are very useful for the large scale production of valuable eukaryotic proteins.
• Bacteria grow rapidly, They grow on relatively simple media, they are easy to handle, they are easily transformed, they can grow on wide range of substrates, they multiply, fast, they contain simple and well characterized genome, they can be easily modified but even though, they have their own problems…

1. Bacteria do not have intrudes and so they do not have any system or machinery to remove introns.
2. Many eukaryotic proteins undergo different types of modifications after they are produced. These modifications are known as “post translation al modifications”.
3. Each bacterial cell usually contains many copies of the plasmid but there is no mechanism to ensure the equal distribution of plasmids in daughter cells.

Introduction

Plasticity is a unique attribute by which the otherwise sessile plant species are capable of adjusting to environmental vagaries by changing their phenotypic and morphological characters. Any plant population will be able to survive only if it can respond to an extremely variable environment by becoming more plastic and more genetically variable. To achieve this, plants should be able to suitably change their morphology anatomy and physiology or any one of these parameters based on environmental changes so as to improve their adaptability and survival in the altered environment. When such changes are genetically heritable, then they lead to species evolution.

Plasticity helps plants to adapt to new environmental conditions, after migration to new geographical areas, by genetic assimilation of traits that can help to improve their performance under a new set of conditions. Understanding plasticity is important for predicting and managing the effect of climate change on native species as well as crop plants. Response of plants to modified environmental conditions is critical for their persistence.

Phenotypic plasticity has been defined as the ability of an individual genotype to produce different phenotypes when exposed to different environmental conditions (Pigliucci et al., 2006). This includes the ability of a plant to modify its development in response to environmental cues and also its ability to bring about changes in its metabolism which increases the chances of survival of an organism under a specific condition.

Introduction to Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis is a crucial component of strategic planning and business decision-making. It involves assessing and understanding the competitive landscape in which a company operates. Here are some key points to consider when introducing competitive analysis:

Competitive analysis is the process of evaluating and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors in a specific market or industry.

Purpose: The primary purpose of competitive analysis is to gain insights into competitors' strategies, capabilities, and market positioning. It assists businesses in pinpointing opportunities, mitigating risks, and formulating effective strategies to surpass their competitors.

Information sources: Competitive analysis relies on gathering information from various sources. These include publicly available data, industry reports, competitor websites, customer reviews, social media, and market research.

Drip system has great promise for efficient utilization of available irrigation water. In our country and elsewhere in the world the scientists are unanimously agreed to adopt drip irrigation method for higher application efficiency and thereby better use of scarce irrigation water. Saksena (1993) reported water losses of only 1-2% in drip irrigation in comparison to 6-9% in sprinkler and 30-35% in surface irrigation method. However, very small area compared to other methods of irrigation so far is irrigated by drip system in our country. Up to 2000 the total area under drip irrigation was 2,59,600 ha in India (Alam & Kumar, 2000). Initial high investment for drip network and pumping system, of course, are discouraging to the most of our farmers. Sharma & Abrol (1993) mentioned that in spite of the very encouraging results and attractive subsidies offered by the Govt. of India, the adoption of the drip irrigation system has not picked up to the expected level. Along with the other reasons they pointed out the high initial cost of the system and lack of research effort on developing cost-effective design suited to local condition are responsible for non-practice of drip irrigation at a considerable scale.

Some research works has been conducted to find out low cost method of drip irrigation. Biswas (1998) developed a manually operated drip irrigation system made of bamboo mains, laterals and sub-laterals. The system and its performance are described below.

Drip Network

The main and laterals of the drip network were made of hollow bamboo pieces each of 3m lengths with 7.5cm and 4.0cm diameter respectively. The sub lateral or the emitters were the bamboo twigs of 0.25cm inside diameter and 1.05-1.10m length to suit the spacing between the plant rows. The mains and laterals were made for the required length in the field by jointing together the sections one after another (Fig. 7.1). The ends of two sections, which contact each other, were made such that one section easily gets inside the other for about 10-15cm.

Concept: It’s a natural process that modifies the cytology, physiology, biochemistry, and physical characteristics of seeds. These modifications lower viability and ultimately result in the seed’s death. A decline in the proportion of germination indicates degradation, and weak seedlings are produced by seeds that do germinate. The factors that impact the ability of seed to be stored include the seed’s quality at the time of storage, its pre-storage history (environmental factors during pre- and post-harvest stages), its moisture content or ambient relative humidity, the temperature of the storage environment, the amount of time the seed is stored, and biotic agents. Seed will inevitably get damaged when being stored (Balesevic-Tubic et al., 2005). The quality of the seed at the time of storage, its pre-storage history (environmental factors during pre and post-harvest stages), its moisture content or ambient relative humidity, the temperature of the storage environment, the length of time the seed is stored, and biotic agents are factors that affect the seed’s ability to be stored. Different physical changes can happen to seed during storage because of factors like temperature, moisture content, and length of storage. The viability and vigor of the seeds may be impacted by these modifications.

This chapter introduces approaches for understanding, assessing, and reducing the vulnerability of forest ecosystems to climate change. It examines the impacts of changing climatic conditions on forests and considers factors such as forest fragmentation, biodiversity, tree density, disturbance, and community dependence on forest resources. The chapter discusses methods and models for vulnerability assessment, including indicator-based and spatial approaches, and explains how vulnerability can be mapped and classified. It also considers strategies for minimizing climate impacts and enhancing forest resilience through appropriate management and conservation interventions.

To many Bio Fertilizer is still an unclear term. Often they are identified as urban and rural organic wastes, plant extracts, organic components etc. However, Bio Fertilizer is mostly commonly referred to the use of soil micro organisms to increase the uptake and availability of plant nutrients.

Bio Fertilizer have gained a good deal of momentum and the industry after a slow start is now gaining more and more importance globally. The major reasons for this are that they:

Rabi : The winter crop season in India from November to April. Main crops grown in rabi comprise wheat, mustard, etc.

Rad : The ‘rad’ is the unit of radiation dose and is defined as the total absorbed dose of 100 ergs of energy per gram of tissue in a unit time.

Radar : An electronic instrument used to detect objects (such as falling precipitation) by their ability to reflect and scatter microwaves back to a receiver. The radar is used for detecting tropical cyclones and monitoring their course as they approach the coast.
 
Radar sonde : A system in which both meteorological and wind data may be obtained, as in radiosonde.

Radiance : Radiant flux per unit area per unit solid angle. Radiance has unit of watts per meter per meter per steradian. The radiance of a perfectly diffuse surface (Lambertian) is independent of the viewing angle.

Infertility or reduced fertility in male animals particularly in bulls had considered being a rare occurrence, but now infertility in males is being considered a common and severe problem. Still there is lack of information concerning the male’s infertility.

I. MANDATE OF COPYRIGHT LAW

The importance of intellectual property rights has arisen in recent years to a great extent. The law of copyrights protects original forms of expression i.e. Novels, Movies, Musical compositions and computer software etc. Earlier it was mainly confined to the -published Work and owner of it could prevent others from getting it published in the form of books or articles in order to get benefit in terms of money or goodwill or reputation. In case of such undue enrichment, the owner had a valid cause of action. The owner of the copyright has a valid cause of action against the violator. At present even in case of its adoption and translation or abridgement, it is obligatory to have consent of author. The main purpose and object of copyright law is to protect the expression in any other form from unauthorized use. Since 1847, the copyrights law is in developing stage so, many legislations has been enacted.1 With the changing of times, the meaning of expression also changes and the style of exhibit the things also changed. The right of author who gives expression in any form is protected from unauthorized use.

Abstract

Lianas are slightly lesser known angiosperms, grows typically in the form of climbing vines mostly in tropical and subtropical forests. Such plants are characterized by scandent thick stems, woody stem in nature and vary in shape and size. They depend on supports in the form of trees, fence and usually climb upward towards the sunlight as they needed for their survival. Keeping the importance of lianas in forests and household, this study was conducted to document the liana angiosperms growing in Western Himalaya along with their medicinal potential for human and animals. This study reveals a total 64 lianas species belonging to 24 families recorded from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. This investigation also provided with medicinal potential of these species, which is used as ethnomedicine by local people living in the interior regions of hills and mountains of Himalaya. In this communication, we highlight lianas as an example of an underestimated forest element that, on the one hand, is a key component in and around forests. This study also helps in conservation of endangered liana species in Himalaya.