eChapters

14.1. Soil fertility

Ability of the soil to supply essential plant nutrients during growth period of the plants

Crop producing capacity of the soil

Abstract

Drug design is a complex computational process that involves studying the structural and physicochemical properties of biological moieties in order to identify new chemical or biochemical substances that can be used as drugs with specific pharmacological properties. The drug discovery pipeline is a crucial aspect of drug design that requires a detailed understanding of the various phases involved. In this chapter, we discuss the fundamental principles and phases of drug design. Additionally, we delve into the concept of docking, a critical step in the drug discovery process that involves predicting the orientation and affinity of a ligand binding to a protein target. The use of computational tools and techniques in drug design has revolutionized the field and is essential for the development of safe and effective drugs.

Quantitative genetics is the study of continuous or quantitative traits and their underlying mechanisms. The main principals of quantitative genetics developed in the 20th century was largely in response to the rediscovery of Mendelian genetics. Mendelian genetics in 1900 centered attention on the inheritance of discrete characters, e.g., smooth vs. wrinkled peas, purple vs. white flowers. This focus was in stark contrast to the branch of genetic analysis by Sir Francis Galton in the 1870’s and 1880’s who focused on characteristics that were continuously variable and thus, not clearly separable into discrete classes. A contentious debate ensued between Mendelians and Biometricians regarding whether discrete characteristics have the same hereditary and evolutionary properties as continuously varying characteristics. I The Mendelians (led by William Bateson) believed that variation in discrete characters drove evolution through mutations with large effects I The Biometricians (led by Karl Pearson and W.F.R. Weldon) viewed evolution to be the result of natural selection acting on continuously distributed characteristics. This eventually led to a fusion of genetics and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection: main principals of quantitative genetics, developed independently by Ronald Fisher (1918) and Sewall Wright (1921), arguable the two most prominent evolutionary biologists.
Interestingly, Galton’s methodological approaches to continuously distributed traits marked the founding of the Biometrical school, which is what many consider to be the birth of modern statistics. Karl Pearson was inspired greatly by Galton, and he went on to develop a number of methods for the analysis of quantitative traits. We will talk more about Galton and Pearson later on in this course. One of the central goals of quantitative genetics is the quantification of the correspondence between phenotypic and genotypic values. It is well accepted that variation in quantitative traits can be attributable to many, possibly interacting, genes whose expression may be sensitive to the environment

Abstract

It is essential that care is taken in the design of primers for PCR. Several parameters including the length of the primer, percentage of GC content and the 3' sequence need to be optimized for successful  PCR. Some of these parameters can be easily manually optimized while others are best done with commercial computer programs. In any event, careful observance of the general rules of primer designing will help ensure successful experiments.

Keywords: Bioinformatic tools, primer designing

Q1.    What is the etiology of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis?
    Ans.    Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus.

Q.2.    It causes contagious or environmental mastitis?
    Ans.    Contagious mastitis

Q3.    What are the important animal risk factors of S. aureus mastitis?
    Ans.
    (i)    Presence of coalgulase –ve Staphylococci and Corynebacterium bovis in the mammary gland act as protective factor for S. aureus mastitis.
    (ii)    Abrasion of teat orifice epithelium is a major risk factor of S. aureus mastitis.
    (iii)    Cows with increased parity are more prone to clinical and subclinical S. aureus mastitis.
    (iv)    Presence of different periparturient diseases like parturient peresis, retained placenta, dystocia, ketosis and ulcers in different organs are also risk    factors for S. aureus mastitis.
    (v)    Animals having very low SCC in milk are more prone to S. aureus mastitis.

Q.1.    What is split plot experiment ?

    Answer
    
    If one has to study two type of factors say A and B in the same experiment where A requires larger plot size and B requires smaller plot size then the structure of the experiment will be that of plots within blocks are known as split plots and blocks within replication are known as main (whole) plots. Such a layout of the experiment is known as split plot experiment.

In contrast to the earlier and existing non-sustainable land use practices, agro forestry presents a more dynamic, productive and sustainable solution to the increasing demand of food, fodder, timber and other agricultural and tree goods. According to the United Nations,the world population was more than 7 billion in 2011 which is expected to go up to 9.3 billion by the mid-century. Consequently food production needs to be increased by over 60% by the year 2050. Agroforestry, which is a multifunctional, ecologically based, natural resource management system can help in dealing with such environmental, economic or social issues.

Antibiotics serve as a backbone of modern clinical management but are currently facing serious threats from nosocomial and community emerging antimicrobial-resistance (AMR). The misuse and overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents in humans and animals have accelerated the development of resistant strains. Amongst the drug-resistant microbes, major threat is posed by the ESKAPEE group, an acronym for Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp., and Escherichia coli, comprising high to critical drug-resistant, World Health Organization Critical Priority I and II pathogens. The dry pipeline of effective and new antibiotics further exacerbates the situation with looming threat of heading to a ‘post-antibiotic era’. In such daring scenario of AMR, where AMR is expected to be the largest killer by 2050, it is imperative to understand the AMR development mechanism in bacteria as survival mechanism to find out way to mitigate AMR development and transfer.

Introduction
• Meat inspection involves proper veterinary examination of live food animals prior to slaughter (called ante-mortem examination), inspection of carcases and offals and pathological examinations where deemed fit
• Full ante-mortem inspection represents 50% of meat inspection
• Ante-mortem inspection is particularly useful for detecting scheduled or infectious diseases which are communicable to man e.g. anthrax, rabies and glanders
• Diseases where animals show nervous symptoms like tetanus, tuberculous meningitis, sturdy in sheep, lysteriosis, rabies, cysticosis etc. and where skin lesions are manifested such as food and mouth disease, swine fever etc. are easily detected during ante-mortem inspection which are difficult to be detected in post-mortem inspection
• Animals must undergo veterinary ante-mortem inspection on the day of their arrival at the slaughterhouse or before the beginning of daily slaughtering
The inspection must determine
1. Whether the animals are suffering from a disease which is communicableto man and to animals or whether they show symptoms
2. Whether they show symptoms of disease or of a disorder of their general condition which is likely to make their meat unfit for human consumption-- any medicine/substances
3. Whether they are tired, agitated or injured
4. Whether they are sufficiently clean to enter the normal slaughter protocol
• For public health purposes, the veterinarian must separate normal animals from those which may be suffering from a potentially zoonotic disease or present a hygiene risk to the slaughter hall environment owing to the soiled condition of their hide/fleece

Q.1.    Define strip plot design ?

    Answer
    
    There is a variant of the split plot design in which both factors A and B will be applied to the larger strips by dividing the experimental field into as many rows as the number of levels of one factor A and into as many columns as the number of levels of second factor B. Then the two factors will be applied at random to the rows and columns. Such a layout is known as strip plot design.

Restriction enzymes cut only at specific sequences of 4 to 8 bases

A long restriction site is rare. Cutting rare sites will produce a few large pieces of DNA.

Restriction enzymes with long sites → small number of large fragments

Restriction enzymes with short sites → large number of small fragments

Abstract

There are two distinct types of oscillations in global oceans, separated in their frequencies by the period of the pendulum day. One species is the gravity waves and the other is the rotational waves, associated with earth’s rotation. Both these species can be found in tidal records around islands as well as near coastlines. These two types of modes are usually found in the tsunami records on tide gauges. The tide gauge records as well as visual descriptions of the water levels during and after the occurrence of a tsunami clearly show the presence of these oscillations. During the tsunami of 26th December 2004 in the Indian Ocean, media reports suggested high water levels persisted around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for several days. These persistent high water levels can be explained by invoking the existence of trapped and partially leaky modes on the shelves surrounding these islands.

Keywords: Oscillations in global waves, Tsunami (2004), Andaman and Nicobar islands.

ABSTRACT

Shoot organogenesis from several explant types excised from in vitro grown plants of local elite brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) cv. Co2 was studied in response to the supplementation of thidiazuron (TDZ), BAP, IAA and NAA. Cotyledons and leaves were found to be the most responsive explants. High shoot bud induction rate (>50 shoot buds/explant) was achieved in the presence of 0.044 mg/l TDZ. The organogenic calli were subcultured in the same shoot bud induction medium for shoot development. Among different growth hormones, TDZ @0.044 mg/l induced more number of shoots per explant compared to BAP, IAA and NAA combinations. Efficient rooting was observed on half strength MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l IAA. Higher percentage of rooting was achieved only when the well developed shoots were directly transferred to soil.

The curl of the vector A= xyi + yzj + zxk (i, j and k represents unit vectors along the three orthogonal axis) is

(A) xi + yj + zk         (B) – xi – yj – zk

(C) yi + zj + xk          (D) – yi - zj - xk

Physical Properties of milk
Procedure: Collect different types of market milk samples and study the  properties of milk. Boil the milk and note down the properties given in table 1 and record the observations

Our country today is considered independent. We have the freedom to live by our choices, and there is no discrimination between women and men. Nowadays, women and men get equal opportunities to earn their livelihoods. Women’s work is restricted to the households and jobs outside the home to contribute to the family’s economy. As industrialization occurs, the demand for labour and employees is also increasing. This has created opportunities for both women and men to work equally.

Cyber extension

Cyber extension means extension over cyberspace. In the applied context of agriculture cyber extension means using of power of online networks, communications channels and interactive multimedia to improve information access for farmers, extension workers, research scientists and extension managers.

Advantages of cyber extension

1. Cyber extension will save time, money, and effort
2. Cyber extension reduces the dependence of the farmers on extension functionaries
3. Easily accessible in remote areas
4. Can provide an early warning system before the natural disaster
5. Cyber extension will be available continuously.

The amount of variation is measured and expressed as the variance. When values are expressed as deviations from the population mean the variance is simple the mean of the squared values. For example, the genotypic variance is the variance of genotypic values and the environmental variance is the variance of environmental deviations. The total variance is the phenotypic variance of the variance of phenotypic values, and is the sum of the separate components.
Components of Variance
The components of variance and the values whose variance they measure are listed as follows:
The total variance is the phenotypic variance, or the variance of phenotypic values, and is the sum of the separate components. Thus
But if genotypic values and environmental deviations are correlated, VP will be increased by twice the covariance of G with E because if P = G + E, VP = V (G + E) = VG + VE + 2 CovGE. d. The term 2 CovGE is zero when G and E are uncorrelated. Also when there is an interaction between genotypes and environments, there will be an additional component of variance due to the interaction i.e.

Weather forecasts play a crucial role in disease control measures for crops. By providing advance warning of favorable conditions for disease outbreaks, weather forecasts enable farmers to take proactive measures to prevent or mitigate the impact of diseases on their crops. This approach is particularly important in modern agriculture, where crop diseases can have devastating effects on yields and quality. The relationship between weather conditions and crop diseases is complex, with factors such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind direction all playing a role in the development and spread of diseases. For example, high humidity and rainfall can create ideal conditions for fungal diseases, while warm temperatures and dry conditions can favor the development of bacterial diseases.By analyzing weather forecasts, farmers can identify periods of high disease risk and take steps to protect their crops. This might involve applying fungicides or bactericides, adjusting irrigation schedules, or implementing other cultural controls to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks (Fig. 12.1). In recent years, advances in technology have improved the accuracy and availability of weather forecasts, making it easier for farmers to access the information they need to make informed decisions about disease control.Additionally, the development of predictive models that incorporate weather data, crop phenology, and other factors has further enhanced the ability of farmers to anticipate and manage disease outbreaks . Overall, the use of weather forecasts in disease control measures is a critical component of integrated disease management (IDM) strategies, which aim to minimize the economic, environmental, and social impacts of crop diseases. By leveraging advances in weather forecasting and predictive modeling, farmers can reduce their reliance on chemical controls, promote more sustainable agricultural practices, and improve the overall health and productivity of their crops.