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We study the friction stir welding (FSW) of AZ91D magnesium alloy. Casting materials are welded and their tensile strength is investigated. The analysis of the parameters of FSW process, such as the rotational speed of the tool, welding speed, and the influence of the axial force on tensile strength was carried out by using the Taguchi parametric design and the optimization approach. The optimized parameters of the process are established using the ANOVA technique. The percentage contributions of the process parameters are also determined.

Human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) accounts for a significant proportion of lower respiratory tract infections in children as well as adults. This study was done to detect the presence of different subtypes of HPIV from patients having influenza like illness (ILI). Throat and nasal swabs from 232 patients with ILI who were negative for influenza viruses were tested by multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(mRT-PCR) for the detection of human parainfluenza virus. All samples were inoculated in rhesus monkey kidney (LLC-MK2) cell line. Of the 232 samples, 26(11.2%) were positive by mRT-PCR and nine (34.6%) showed cytopathic effect with syncytium formation for HPIV and all were HPIV-3 serotype, other serotypes like 1,2,4 were negative. The HPIV-3 strains (HN gene) were sequenced and analysed. Two novel mutations were identified at amino acid residues 295 and 297. The mRT-PCR assay offers a rapid, sensitive and accurate diagnostic method for detection of HPIV which enables early detection and control. In our study there was a predominance of HPIV among 1-5 yr age group and the school going age group was less affected. Further studies need to be done to characterize HPIV isolated from different parts of the country.

The smartphone usage among people is increasing rapidly. With the phenomenal growth of smartphone use, smartphone theft is also increasing. This paper proposes a model to secure smartphones from theft as well as provides options to access a smartphone through other smartphone or a normal mobile via Short Message Service. This model provides option to track and secure the mobile by locking it. It also provides facilities to receive the incoming call and sms information to the remotely connected device and enables the remote user to control the mobile through SMS. The proposed model is validated by the prototype implementation in Android platform. Various tests are conducted in the implementation and the results are discussed.

Novel resistance breaking (RB) strains of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) capable of disrupting single gene resistance in tomato ( Sw- 5 b ) and pepper ( Tsw ) have been reported worldwide. Thrips, a supervector of TSWV, transmit these strains in a suite of specialty and staple food crops across the globe. However, transmission biology of RB strains remains virtually unexplored. We investigated various transmission parameters viz . inoculation efficiency, putative sex-specific differences in inoculation, virus accumulation, and source sink relationships to dissect these interactions. Six novel strains of TSWV, namely Tom-BL1, Tom-BL2, Tom-CA, Tom-MX, Pep-BL and Non-RB, transmitted by western flower thrips (WFT) were used and thrips were allowed four 24h consecutive inoculation accession periods (IAPs). Our results show that most strains were inoculated at all four IAPs, however, their rates differed across IAPs. Overall, WFT had highest inoculation efficiency at the first and lowest at the second IAP. Female thrips carried higher virus titers; however, males were better at inoculating TSWV. Furthermore, we did not find significant positive correlations in virus titers between the tissues used for TSWV acquisition, thrips and thrips-inoculated leaf discs. Males inoculated RB strains at 87% efficiency whereas Non-RB strain at 80% efficiency. Female thrips were 77% and 75% efficient at inoculating RB and Non-RB strains, respectively. This study furnishes new insights into the transmission biology of TSWV RB strains, especially from inoculation and thrips sex perspectives, and provides a baseline for future molecular studies surrounding ever evolving novel TSWV strains.

Photovoltaic – Thermal (PVT) solar collector based hydrogen production system using different coolants such as water, air, nanofluids etc. to enhance the performance by extracting more heat from PV module. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of a hydrogen generation system based on PVT, an experiment was conducted utilizing various coolants in a laminar flow environment. The experiment was carried out between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM under varying solar radiation conditions, and the hydrogen yield rate increased by approximately 20.7%, 25.6%, and 29.6% in comparison to the PV-based hydrogen production system. Utilizing an organized multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) strategy is necessary to select the most effective cooling fluid for maximizing performance. This research aims to determine the appropriate heat transfer fluid by using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Multi-Objective Optimization technique on the basis of Ratio Analysis (MOORA) methodologies. The findings indicated that around 80% of the rankings achieved in both the TOPSIS and MOORA approaches were identical. Furthermore, the hybrid nanofluid consisting of Al2O3 – CuO particles suspended in water, with a nanoparticle concentration of 0.2%, and subjected to 4 hours of sonication, is considered to be of greater importance compared to other fluids.

Chemical pesticides have an immense role in curbing the infection of plant viruses and soil-borne pathogens of high valued crops. However, the usage of chemical pesticides also contributes to the development of resistance among pathogens. Hence, attempts were made in this study to identify a suitable bacterial antagonist for managing viral and fungal pathogens infecting crop plants. Based on our earlier investigations, we identified Bacillus amyloliquefaciens VB7 as a potential antagonist for managing Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infecting carnation, tobacco streak virus infecting cotton and groundnut bud necrosis infecting tomato. Considering the multifaceted action of B. amyloliquefaciens VB7, attempts were made for whole-genome sequencing to assess the antiviral activity against tomato spotted wilt virus infecting chrysanthemum and antifungal action against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). Genome annotation of the isolate B. amyloliquefaciens VB7 was confirmed as B. velezensis VB7 with accession number CP047587. Genome analysis revealed the presence of 9,231,928 reads with an average read length of 149 bp. Assembled genome had 1 contig, with a total length of 3,021,183 bp and an average G+C content of 46.79%. The protein-coding sequences (CDS) in the genome was 3090, transfer RNA (tRNA) genes were 85 with 29 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and 21 repeat regions. The genome of B. velezensis VB7 had 506 hypothetical proteins and 2584 proteins with functional assignments. VB7 genome had the presence of flagellin protein FlaA with 987 nucleotides and translation elongation factor TU (Ef-Tu) with 1191 nucleotides. The identified ORFs were 3911 with 47.22% GC content. Non ribosomal pepide synthetase cluster (NRPS) gene clusters in the genome of VB7, coded for the anti-microbial peptides surfactin, butirosin A/butirosin B, fengycin, difficidin, bacillibactin, bacilysin, and mersacidin the Ripp lanthipeptide. Antiviral action of VB7 was confirmed by suppression of local lesion formation of TSWV in the local lesion host cowpea (Co-7). Moreover, combined application of B. velezensis VB7 with phyto-antiviral principles M. Jalapa and H. cupanioides increased shoot length, shoot diameter, number of flower buds per plant, flower diameter, and fresh weight of chrysanthemum. Further, screening for antifungal action of VB7 expressed antifungal action against Foc in vitro by producing VOC/NVOC compounds, including hexadecanoic acid, linoelaidic acid, octadecanoic acid, clindamycin, formic acid, succinamide, furanone, 4H-pyran, nonanol and oleic acid, contributing to the total suppression of Foc apart from the presence of NRPS gene clusters. Thus, our study confirmed the scope for exploring B. velezensis VB7 on a commercial scale to manage tomato spotted wilt virus, groundnut bud necrosis virus, tobacco streak virus, S. sclerotiorum, and Foc causing panama wilt of banana.

Novel resistance breaking (RB) strains of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) capable of disrupting single gene resistance in tomato (Sw-5b) and pepper (Tsw) have been reported worldwide. Thrips, a supervector of TSWV, transmit these strains in a suite of specialty and staple food crops across the globe. However, transmission biology of RB strains remains virtually unexplored. We investigated various transmission parameters viz. inoculation efficiency, putative sex-specific differences in inoculation, virus accumulation, and source sink relationships to dissect these interactions. Six novel strains of TSWV, namely Tom-BL1, Tom-BL2, Tom-CA, Tom-MX, Pep-BL and Non-RB, transmitted by western flower thrips (WFT) were used and thrips were allowed four 24h consecutive inoculation accession periods (IAPs). Our results show that most strains were inoculated at all four IAPs, however, their rates differed across IAPs. Overall, WFT had highest inoculation efficiency at the first and lowest at the second IAP. Female thrips carried higher virus titers; however, males were better at inoculating TSWV. Furthermore, we did not find significant positive correlations in virus titers between the tissues used for TSWV acquisition, thrips and thrips-inoculated leaf discs. Males inoculated RB strains at 87% efficiency whereas Non-RB strain at 80% efficiency. Female thrips were 77% and 75% efficient at inoculating RB and Non-RB strains, respectively. This study furnishes new insights into the transmission biology of TSWV RB strains, especially from inoculation and thrips sex perspectives, and provides a baseline for future molecular studies surrounding ever evolving novel TSWV strains.

Tomato spotted wilt (TSW) disease caused by tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV, Orthotospovirus tomatomaculae ) poses a significant threat to specialty and staple crops worldwide by causing over a billion dollars in crop losses annually. Current strategies for TSWV diagnosis heavily rely on nucleic acid or protein-based techniques which require significant technical expertise, and are invasive, time-consuming, and expensive, thereby catalyzing the search for better alternatives. In this study, we explored the potential of Raman spectroscopy (RS) in early detection of TSW in a non-invasive and non-destructive manner. Specifically, we investigated whether RS could be used to detect strain specific TSW symptoms associated with four TSWV strains infecting three differentially resistant tomato cultivars. In the acquired spectra, we observed notable reductions in the intensity of vibrational peaks associated with carotenoids. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we confirmed that TSWV caused a substantial decrease in the concentration of lutein that was detected by RS. Finally, we demonstrated that Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) could be used to differentiate strain-specific TSW symptoms across all tested cultivars. These results demonstrate that RS can be a promising solution for early diagnosis of TSW, enabling timely disease intervention and thereby mitigating crop losses inflicted by TSWV.

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) are important viral pathogens of wheat in the Great Plains. These viruses individually or in mixed infections with High Plains wheat mosaic virus cause a devastating wheat streak mosaic (WSM) disease. Although seed transmission of WSMV has been studied, no information is currently available on that of TriMV. Furthermore, no study has explored the implications of mixed infections of WSMV and TriMV on seed transmission of one or both viruses. To study both aspects, seeds from differentially resistant field-grown wheat plants (cv. TAM 304 (susceptible), Joe (WSMV resistant, Wsm2 gene), and Breakthrough (BT) (WSMV and TriMV resistant, Wsm1 gene)) showing characteristic WSM symptoms were collected and analyzed to quantify both viruses using qRT-PCR. The percentage of seeds tested positive for WSMV or TriMV individually and in mixed infection varied with cultivar and virus combinations; 13% of TAM 304 seeds tested positive for WSMV, followed by 8% of BT and 4% of Joe seeds. Similarly, TriMV was detected in 12% of BT seeds, followed by 11% of TAM 304 and 8% of Joe seeds. Lastly, mixed infection was detected in 7% of TAM 304 seeds, followed by 4% in BT, and 2% in Joe. Dissection of field-collected seeds into three parts, embryo, endosperm, and seed coat, revealed both WSMV and TriMV accumulated only in the seed coat. Consistent with seeds, percent infection of WSMV or TriMV in the plants that emerged from infected seeds in each treatment varied with cultivar and virus combinations (WSMV: BT 3%; Joe 2%; TAM 304 9%; TriMV: BT 7%; Joe 8%; and TAM 304 10%). Plants infected with mixed viruses showed more pronounced WSM symptoms compared to individual infections. However, both viruses were present only in a few plants (BT: 2%, Joe: 1%, and TAM 304: 4%). Taken together, this study showed that TriMV was transmitted vertically at a higher frequency than WSMV in resistant cultivars, and the seed transmission of TriMV with WSMV increased the virulence of both pathogens (measured via WSM symptom severity) in the emerged plants. Furthermore, Wsm1 and Wsm2 genes considerably reduced WSMV transmission via infected seeds. However, no such effects were observed on TriMV, especially in progeny plants. These results reiterated the importance of planting clean seeds and highlighted the immediate need to identify/develop new sources of TriMV resistance to effectively manage the recurring WSM epidemic.