Microbial inoculants as plant growth stimulating and soil nutrient availability enhancing options for cucumber under protected cultivation.

Protected cultivation of vegetables is often hampered by declining nutrient availability in soil due to year-around farming, which in turn, leads to poor quality and yields, causing serious concern. Our study aimed towards evaluating the potential of novel biofilm formulations-Anabaena or Trichoderma as matrices with Azotobacter sp. as Anabaena-Azotobacter (An-Az) and Trichoderma-Azotobacter (Tr-Az) or together as Anabaena-Trichoderma (An-Tr), on the growth, physiological activities, yield, and changes in the profiles of soil microbial communities in two cultivars (cv. DAPC-6 and cv. Kian) of cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Photosynthetic pigments, evaluated as an index of growth showed two-threefold increase, while elicited activity of defense and antioxidant enzymes was stimulated; this facilitated significant improvement in the plants belonging to the inoculated treatments. Microbial biomass carbon and polysaccharides in soil enhanced by two-threefolds in treatments receiving microbial formulations. Available N in soil increased by 50-90% in An-Az and An-Tr biofilm inoculated treatments, while the availability of P and organic C content of soil improved by 40-60%, over control. PCR-DGGE profiles generated revealed signification modulation of cyanobacterial communities and cultivar-specific differences. Significant enhancement in leaf chlorophyll pigments, soil microbiological parameters and nutrient bio-availabilities along with positive correlation among the analysed parameters, and distinct profiles generated by PCR-DGGE analyses illustrated the promise of these novel inoculants for cucumber.

Impact of neuropsychological rehabilitation on activities of daily living and community reintegration of patients with traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVES: The present study was targeted to observe the impact of neuropsychological rehabilitation on activities of daily living (ADL) and community reintegration of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: Based on purposive sampling technique, ten patients with TBI falling in the age range of 20-40 years and fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were chosen from All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru, India. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental design, i.e., nonequivalent control group design was chosen for the study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were assessed on Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery for Adults, Cognitive Symptoms Checklist, and Community Integration Questionnaire. Patients in experimental group were given neuropsychological rehabilitation for 6 months. Brainwave-R and Talking Pen were used as rehabilitative tools. RESULTS: Patients with TBI have significant neuropsychological deficits observed in memory, visuo-spatial organization, arithmetic, spelling, writing, fine motor coordination, and executive functioning. Neuropsychological deficits have a major impact on ADL and community reintegration. Neuropsychological rehabilitation is effective in rehabilitating neuropsychological deficits, which in turn leads to improvement in ADL and community reintegration. CONCLUSION: Neuropsychological rehabilitation should be one of the major goals in rehabilitation procedures for patients with TBI in order to bring overall improvement in them.

Cyanobacterial and rhizobial inoculation modulates the plant physiological attributes and nodule microbial communities of chickpea.

The present investigation aimed to understand the influence of two plant growth promoting cyanobacterial formulations (Anabaena-Mesorhizobium ciceri biofilm and Anabaena laxa), along with Mesorhizobium ciceri, on the symbiotic performance of five each of desi- and kabuli-chickpea cultivars. Inoculation with cyanobacterial formulations led to significant interactions with different cultivars, in terms of fresh weight and number of nodules, the concentration of nodular leghemoglobin, and the number of pods. The inoculant A. laxa alone was superior in its performance, recording 30-50% higher values than uninoculated control, and led to significantly higher nodule number per plant and fresh root weight, relative to the M. ciceri alone. Highest nodule numbers were recorded in the kabuli cultivars BG256 and BG1003. The kabuli cultivar BG1108 treated with the biofilmed Anabaena-M. ciceri inoculant recorded the highest concentration of leghemoglobin in nodules. These inoculants also stimulated the elicitation of defense- and pathogenesis-related enzymes in both the desi and kabuli cultivars, by two to threefolds. The analyses of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles revealed that microbial communities in nodules were highly diverse, with about 23 archaeal, 9 bacterial, and 13 cyanobacterial predominant phylotypes observed in both desi and kabuli cultivars, and influenced by the inoculants. Our findings illustrate that the performance of the chickpea plants may be significantly modulated by the microbial communities in the nodule, which may contribute towards improved plant growth and metabolic activity of nodules. This emphasizes the promise of cyanobacterial inoculants in improving the symbiotic performance of chickpea.

Beneficial cyanobacteria and eubacteria synergistically enhance bioavailability of soil nutrients and yield of okra.

Microorganisms in the rhizosphere mediate the cycling of nutrients, their enhanced mobilisation and facilitate their uptake, leading to increased root growth, biomass and yield of plants. We examined the promise of beneficial cyanobacteria and eubacteria as microbial inoculants, applied singly or in combination as consortia or biofilms, to improve growth and yields of okra. Interrelationships among the microbial activities and the micro/macro nutrient dynamics in soils and okra yield characteristics were assessed along with the changes in the soil microbiome. A significant effect of microbial inoculation on alkaline phosphatase activity was recorded both at the mid-crop and harvest stages. Microbial biomass carbon values were highest due to the Anabaena sp. - Providencia sp. (CR1 + PR3) application. The yield of okra ranged from 444.6-478.4 g(-1) plant and a positive correlation (0.69) recorded between yield and root weight. The application of Azotobacter led to the highest root weight and yield. The concentration of Zn at mid-crop stage was 60-70% higher in the Azotobacter sp. and Calothrix sp. inoculated soils, as compared to uninoculated control. Iron concentration in soil was more than 2-3 folds higher than control at the mid-crop stage, especially due to the application of Anabaena-Azotobacter biofilm and Azotobacter sp. Both at the mid-crop and harvest stages, the PCR-DGGE profiles of eubacterial communities were similar among the uninoculated control, the Anabaena sp. - Providencia sp. (CW1 + PW5) and the Anabaena-Azotobacter biofilm treatments. Although the profiles of the Azotobacter, Calothrix and CR1 + PR3 treatments were identical at these stages of growth, the profile of CR1 + PR3 was clearly distinguishable. The performance of the inoculants, particularly Calothrix (T6) and consortium of Anabaena and Providencia (CR1 + PR3; T5), in terms of microbiological and nutrient data, along with generation of distinct PCR-DGGE profiles suggested their superiority and emphasized the utility of combining microbiological and molecular tools in the selection of effective microbial inoculants.