Central University of Kerala

About: Central University of Kerala is a education organization based out in Kāsaragod, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 556 authors who have published 881 publications receiving 7474 citations.

Futures Trading: Informational Content of Open Interest and Trading Volume on Futures Price

Abstract: In an agriculture dominated country, like India, farmers face not only yield risk but price risk as well. Commodity futures market play major role in the price risk management process, especially in agriculture. This study empirically analyses the informational content of open interest and trading volume on futures price determination on the basis of selected agricultural commodities. Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM Test is used for analyzing the role of informational content of open interest and trading volume on futures price. Empirical result shown that open interest playing a major role in futures price determination on commodity futures trading. In case of trading volume, the results show that a significant negative impact on futures price. The study strongly argues that the stockholders will be benefited through informational content of open interest and volume there by reducing the risk involved in the futures market. By monitoring the price trend, volume and open interest the technician is better able to measure the buying or selling pressure behind market moves. This will provide traders with valuable information to develop a suitable pricing strategy and an appropriate production and marketing plan for producers farming.

Genetic Engineering for Developing Herbicide Resistance in Rice Crops

Abstract: Herbicides are used in modern agriculture to control weeds that pose threat to agricultural crops by competing with them for light and nutrients. Continuous use of the same type of herbicide results in the evolution of weeds that are resistant to herbicides. Indiscriminate use of herbicides can also cause environmental pollution. Development of transgenic rice that is resistant to more than one herbicide is a solution to these problems. The use of herbicide-resistant variety of rice also reduces the cost for weed control. Genetic engineering involves the manipulation of an organism’s genetic material using various molecular biological techniques. Source of transgenes for herbicide resistance includes bacteria and plants. Development of transgenic rice that is herbicide-resistant will result in the development of wild rice. Genetically engineered rice that is herbicide-resistant has changed the usage pattern of herbicide worldwide. Examples for herbicide-resistant rice varieties include Clearfield, Roundup Ready, and LibertyLink. Clearfield is imidazolinone-resistant, Roundup Ready glyphosate-resistant, and LibertyLink glufosinate-resistant. Despite having so many benefits, genetically engineered herbicide-resistant rice varieties have some drawbacks. One such drawback is that genetically improved crops are also responsible for the problems associated with herbicide-resistant weeds. Another issue is related to the acceptance of genetically modified herbicide-resistant rice variety by the public. It is also not that easy to find domestic and international markets with herbicide-resistant rice varieties. Hence, proper production and marketing strategies should be adopted along with the development of herbicide-resistant rice varieties that are developed using genetic engineering.

Biotic Seed Dispersal Mechanisms of Tropical Rain Forests – Bats, Fishes, and Migratory Birds

Abstract: Seed dispersal is crucial for plants to maintain structure, diversity, population, and community. Although wind and water can disperse seeds, 75% of total terrestrial plants require animals to move their seeds to microsites that favor recruitment. Animals move seeds externally (epizoochory) and internally (endozoochory). While epizoochory is promising for plants, not many plants have evolved fruit/seed traits to favor it or evolved as a major dispersal mechanism in grasslands, scrub forests, and dry deciduous forests. Frugivorous animals perform endozoochory and long-distance dispersal of seeds, particularly in tropical rainforests. The quantity and quality of endozoochory are predicted by the abundance and fruit-handling behavior of animals. Birds, mammals, fishes, and ants are major biotic dispersal agents of tropics; but, crabs, wasps, and dung beetles are also often reported as seed dispersal agents of tropical plants.

On the dimension of vertex labeling of $k$-uniform dcsl of $k$-uniform caterpillar

Abstract: A distance compatible set labeling (dcsl) of a connected graph $G$ is an injective set assignment $f : V(G) \rightarrow 2^{X},$ $X$ being a nonempty ground set, such that the corresponding induced function $f^{\oplus} :E(G) \rightarrow 2^{X}\setminus \{\emptyset\}$ given by $f^{\oplus}(uv)= f(u)\oplus f(v)$ satisfies $\mid f^{\oplus}(uv) \mid = k_{(u,v)}^{f}d_{G}(u,v) $ for every pair of distinct vertices $u, v \in V(G),$ where $d_{G}(u,v)$ denotes the path distance between $u$ and $v$ and $k_{(u,v)}^{f}$ is a constant, not necessarily an integer. A dcsl $f$ of $G$ is $k$-uniform if all the constant of proportionality with respect to $f$ are equal to $k,$ and if $G$ admits such a dcsl then $G$ is called a $k$-uniform dcsl graph. The $k$-uniform dcsl index of a graph $G,$ denoted by $\delta_{k}(G)$ is the minimum of the cardinalities of $X,$ as $X$ varies over all $k$-uniform dcsl-sets of $G.$ A linear extension ${\mathbf{L}}$ of a partial order ${\mathbf{P}} = (P, \preceq)$ is a linear order on the elements of $P$, such that $ x \preceq y$ in ${\mathbf{P}}$ implies $ x \preceq y$ in ${\mathbf{L}}$, for all $x, y \in P$. The dimension of a poset ${\mathbf{P}},$ denoted by $dim({\mathbf{P}}),$ is the minimum number of linear extensions on ${\mathbf{P}}$ whose intersection is `$\preceq$'. In this paper we prove that $dim({\mathcal{F}}) \leq \delta_{k}(P^{+k}_n),$ where ${\mathcal{F}}$ is the range of a $k$-uniform dcsl of the $k$-uniform caterpillar, denoted by $P^{+k}_n \ (n\geq 1, k\geq 1)$ on `$n(k+1)$' vertices.