Marker assisted backcross breeding for combining three resistance genes (xa13 and Xa21 for Bacterial Blight, Pi54 for blast) and a major QTL (qSBR11-1 for resistance to Sheath blight) in Basmati rice.

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The main aim of this work was to study the effects of chemical treatments on veldt grape fibers (VGFs) and their composites with unsaturated polyester (UP) as the matrix. Alkalis such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH) 2 ] and silane coupling agent (NaOH 1 silane) were used to modify the surface of optimally selected 40mm long fibers. The chemical treatments were carried with different concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 15% of chemical agents for 1 h. The chemically treated single fibers were subjected to tensile testing. The chemical analysis, crystallinity and functional group identification of both untreated and surface modified VGFs were carried out. The untreated and chemically treated 40 mm fiber length VGFs/UP composites were prepared with a loading of 40 wt% for studying the mechanical properties. The enhanced tensile strength of VGFs was found at the optimized concentration of 10% (NaOH), 15% [Ca(OH) 2 ] and 10% (NaOH 1 silane) for various chemical treatments. The thermal stability of treated VGFs was higher when compared to untreated ones. Among all, the Ca(OH) 2 treated VGF/UP composites possessed better mechanical properties. Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) analysis was performed to identify the failure mechanism for the impact fractured samples.

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The visibility of a driver is the key phenomenon in the road accidents. Reduction of blind spot improves the area of visibility which leads to reduce the possibility of the accidents. In this paper an effort is taken to reduce the blind spot area through the optimization of design parameters used in the design of rear view mirror in heavy vehicles. This is achieved by using a multi criteria decision making (MCDM) approach called COPRAS (Complex Proportional Assessment of alternatives) technique. The effectiveness of the developed model is proved by a case study conducted in a public transport corporation located in the southern part of India. The weights of the design parameters are calculated using three different approaches such as AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process), FARE (Factor Relationship) method and Entropy Measurement and the results are compared.

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The morphological, physicochemical, mechanical and thermal properties of Veldt-grape stem fibre and wild date palm leaf stalk fibre are described in this work, which are seldom studied before. The botanical name of Veldt-grape stem fibre and wild date palm leaf stalk fibre are known as Cissus quadrangularis and Phoenix reclinata, respectively. The morphological analysis of vegetable fibres showed the presence of cracks, microvoids and impurities on the surfaces of Veldt-grape stem fibre and wild date palm leaf stalk fibre. Veldt-grape stem fibre possessed the lowest diameter and density of approximately 0.2668 mm and 1.2128 g/cm 3 , respectively, compared to wild date palm leaf stalk fibre. An X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared analysis of Veldt-grape stem fibre and wild date palm leaf stalk fibre exhibited the presence of cellulose I b with a crystallinity index of 30.9% and 38.8%, respectively. Wild date palm leaf stalk fibre contained high surface roughness in the range of 0.904 mm than Veldt-grape stem fibre (0.611 mm). Tensile tests displayed that wild date palm leaf stalk fibre has highest tensile strength of around 66 MPa, and Veldt-grape stem fibre has highest strain to failure of around 6% in comparison with other fibre. The thermogravimetric analysis indicates that thermal stability of Veldtgrape stem fibre and wild date palm leaf stalk fibre is better up to 230 C and 250 C, respectively, which are well within the polymerisation process temperature.

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