Empirical evidence for economic viability of direct seeded rice in peninsular India: An action-based research.

Purpose: This study identified critical constraints in technology adoption for Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) compared with puddled transplanted rice (PTR) practices. We present the impact of DSR technology adoption on paddy yield, income generation, and cost incurred on various farm operations. Furthermore, the study investigates whether a dry DSR practice provides more economic and production benefits than a wet DSR.

Unexpected Slow Relaxation Dynamics in Pure Ring Polymers Arise from Intermolecular Interactions.

Ring polymers have fascinated scientists for decades, but experimental progress has been challenging due to the presence of linear chain contaminants that fundamentally alter dynamics. In this work, we report the unexpected slow stress relaxation behavior of concentrated ring polymers that arises due to ring-ring interactions and ring packing structure. Topologically pure, high molecular weight ring polymers are prepared without linear chain contaminants using cyclic poly(phthalaldehyde) (cPPA), a metastable polymer chemistry that rapidly depolymerizes from free ends at ambient temperatures.

Designing Multicomponent Polymer Colloids for Self-Stratifying Films.

Aqueous polymer colloids known as latexes are widely used in coating applications. Multicomponent latexes comprised of two incompatible polymeric species organized into a core-shell particle morphology are a promising system for self-stratifying coatings that spontaneously partition into multiple layers, thereby yielding complex structured coatings requiring only a single application step. Developing new materials for self-stratifying coatings requires a clear understanding of the thermodynamic and kinetic properties governing phase separation and polymeric species transport.

Elucidating the G″ overshoot in soft materials with a yield transition via a time-resolved experimental strain decomposition.

Materials that exhibit yielding behavior are used in many applications, from spreadable foods and cosmetics to direct write three-dimensional printing inks and filled rubbers. Their key design feature is the ability to transition behaviorally from solid to fluid under sufficient load or deformation. Despite its widespread applications, little is known about the dynamics of yielding in real processes, as the nonequilibrium nature of the transition impedes understanding.

Comparative evaluation of structure and characteristic of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase proteins and their function in Salmonella Typhimurium stress responses and virulence.

Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases (PPIase) exhibit chaperone activity and assist in protein folding by increasing the rate of cis-trans transition on proline-peptide bonds. The current study aimed to identify and characterize three genes, ppiA, ppiB, and ppiC, which encode proteins of the PPIase family in the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Salmonella Typhimurium is a facultative intracellular zoonotic pathogen that causes food- and water-borne gastroenteritis in humans (leading to bacteremia in immune-compromised subjects).

The large protein 'L' of Peste-des-petits-ruminants virus exhibits RNA triphosphatase activity, the first enzyme in mRNA capping pathway.

Peste-des-petits-ruminants is a highly contagious and fatal disease of goats and sheep caused by non-segmented, negative strand RNA virus belonging to the Morbillivirus genus-Peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) which is evolutionarily closely related to Rinderpest virus (RPV). The large protein 'L' of the members of this genus is a multifunctional catalytic protein, which transcribes and replicates the viral genomic RNA as well as possesses mRNA capping, methylation and polyadenylation activities; however, the detailed mechanism of mRNA capping by PPRV L protein has not been studied. We have found earlier that the L protein of RPV has RNA triphosphatase (RTPase), guanylyltransferase (GTase) and methyltransferase activities, and unlike vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), follows the conventional pathway of mRNA capping.

Giant Primary Sinonasal Mucosal Melanoma: A Rare Malignancy.

It is extremely rare to find a case of primary sinonasal mucosal melanoma, which is more aggressive and have poorer outcome than its cutaneous counterpart. This tumour is refractory to the treatment which includes wide surgical excision with or without adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy. We are reporting a case of 60 year old female who presented with right sided nasal mass and facial deformity, in whom the diagnosis of mucosal melanoma was made on histopathological examination and confirmed by immunohistochemistry.

Facial Palsy due to Parotid Abscess: An Unusual Complication.

Facial nerve palsy is usually associated with a malignant parotid neoplasm; it is highly unusual for it to result from a benign situation, such as inflammation or infection of the parotid gland. Surgery along with prompt medical treatment is the mainstay, and in the majority of the patients, nerve paralysis recovers in the follow-up period. We report a case of a 50-year-old non-diabetic non-hypertensive female who presented with odynophagia, left-sided parotid swelling, and left facial nerve palsy.

The RNA triphosphatase domain of L protein of Rinderpest virus exhibits pyrophosphatase and tripolyphosphatase activities.

L protein of the Rinderpest virus, an archetypal paramyxovirus possesses RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity which transcribes the genome into mRNAs as well as replicates the RNA genome. The protein also possesses RNA triphosphatase (RTPase), guanylyltransferase (GTase) and methyltransferase enzyme activities responsible for capping the mRNAs in a conventional pathway similar to that of the host pathway. Subsequent to the earlier characterization of the GTase activity of L protein and identification of the RTPase domain of the L protein, we report here, additional enzymatic activities associated with the RTPase domain.

A carboxy terminal domain of the L protein of rinderpest virus possesses RNA triphosphatase activity - The first enzyme in the viral mRNA capping pathway.

The large protein L of negative-sense RNA viruses is a multifunctional protein involved in transcription and replication of genomic RNA. It also possesses enzymatic activities involved in capping and methylation of viral mRNAs. The pathway for mRNA capping followed by the L protein of the viruses in the Morbillivirus genus has not been established, although it has been speculated that these viruses may follow the unconventional capping pathway as has been shown for some viruses of Rhabdoviridae family.