Immune response of chicks to oral vaccination against Newcastle disease and fowl pox

The humoral immune response and immunity conferred in chicks were compared following separate and combined oral vaccination with F strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and HP1 strain of fowl pox virus. The haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titre against NDV and passive haemagglutination (PHA) antibody titre against fowl pox virus were comparable in two respective groups. The serum IgG concentration increased significantly after the second vaccination in all the groups. The NDV vaccine induced significantly higher IgG production as compared to fowl pox virus vaccine. There was no significant difference in serum IgG concentration produced by combined vaccine and separate F strain vaccine. The protection afforded by combined and separate vaccinations did not vary significantly against challenge with virulent strains of NDV and fowl pox virus at different stages.     

Can conservation tillage and residue management enhance energy use efficiency and sustainability of rice-pea system in the Eastern Himalayas?

ABSTRACT

Low productivity and energy use efficiency (EUE) of rice farming are the major concerns for agricultural sustainability in the Eastern Himalayan region of India. A field experiment on rice (Oryza sativa L.)-pea (Pisum sativum L) system was conducted for three consecutive years during 2012–15 in lowland ecosystem to assess the direct and residual impact of tillage and residue management (RM) practises on productivity and sustainability. Significantly higher grain yield of rice was achieved under no-till (NT) than minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT). Among RM practises, 50% NPK + green leaf manure, 50% NPK + weed biomass and 50% NPK + in-situ residue retention recorded significantly higher mean grain yields than application of 50% NPK and 100% NPK without residues. Residual effect of MT in preceding rice gave significantly higher green pod yield of succeeding pea than NT and CT. The system EUE was significantly higher under MT (rice)-NT (pea) compared to those of NT-NT and CT-NT systems. The sustainable yield index of rice and pea was maximum under MT-NT followed by NT-NT. Thus, NT/MT with suitable RM practises is a pertinent strategy for sustainable productivity of rice-pea system in the Eastern Himalayas and in similar adjoining regions.     

Romifidine-ketamine anaesthesia in atropine and triflupromazine pre-medicated buffalo calves

The study was conducted on 10 buffalo calves with a weight of 98.5 +/- 3.9 kg and age 9.7 +/- 1.3 months. Ten trials of two treatments were carried out using a randomized block design. Atropine at the dose of 0.02 mg/kg bodyweight was administered in both the groups. The animals of group I received romifidine at the dose of 10 microg/kg i.v., 10 min after atropine administration, whereas, animals of group II received triflupromazine at the dose of 0.3 mg/kg i.m. and 10 min later romifidine at the dose of 10 microg/kg i.v. immediately followed by ketamine at the dose of 5 mg/kg i.v. The onset of action of romifidine in group I occurred within 2 min and the animals remained under mild sedation for 31 +/- 4.8 min. In group II, the triflupromazine-romifidine-ketamine combination induced anaesthesia for 14 +/- 2.3 min. Hypothermia, significant bradycardia and respiratory depression was noticed in both groups at different time intervals.     

Xylazine, diazepam and midazolam premedicated ketamine anaesthesia in white Leghorn cockerels for typhlectomy

Thee different combinations of ketamine hydrochloride were used to induce general anaesthesia for surgical operations (typhlectomy) in 30 adult, single-comb White Leghorn cockerels. They were randomly divided into three groups, each comprising 10 birds. Birds in Group I received xylazine-ketamine combinations at the dose rate of 2 mg xylazine and 10 mg ketamine per kg i.v., whereas birds of Group II received diazepam (2.5 mg/kg i.v.) and 5 min later ketamine (75 mg/kg i.m.). In the Group III, midazolam (2 mg/kg i.m.) and 5 min later ketamine (50 mg/kg i.v.) was administered. The onset of sedation/anaesthesia was shortest (1.60 +/- 0.27 min) in Group I, followed by Group II (8.40 +/- 0.83 min) and Group III (17.10 +/- 1.71 min). Recovery period was shortest in the Group I (65-75 min) followed by Group II (80-85 min) and Group III (92-105 min). Sedation, muscle relaxation and surgical anaesthesia was optimal and excellent in Group I compared with the other two groups. Torticollis, salivation and dyspnoea were observed in Group III. Short-term limb contractions were present in all birds in Groups II and III, up to 20 min of observation. Recovery from anaesthesia was smooth in all three groups. A Surgical procedure (typhlectomy) was performed on all birds. Hypothermia was observed in Group II, whereas heart and respiratory depression was recorded in Group I. Blood sugar level did not vary significantly in any anaesthetic regime. The reduction of haemoglobin was maximum in Group II compared with Groups I and III. Hypoxaemia and hypercapnaea were elevated in all birds in Groups II and III. Blood electrolytes did not vary significantly from the baseline values among the three groups of birds during the period of observation (120 min). The xylazineketamine combination was found to be the best anaesthesia for surgical intervention in chickens.     

Assessment of Carbon Balance in Community Forests in Dolakha, Nepal

This study assessed the net above-ground carbon stock in six community forests in the Dolakha district, Nepal. A survey was conducted of above-ground timber species, using random sampling. A tree-ring chronology for Pinus roxburghii was created to construct a growth model representative of the various mainly-pine species. The allometric model combined with tree ring analysis was used to estimate carbon stock and annual growth in the above-ground tree biomass. The out-take of forest biomass for construction material and fuelwood was estimated on the basis of interviews and official records of community forest user groups. The average annual carbon increment of the community forests was 2.19 ton/ha, and the average annual carbon out-take of timber and fuelwood was 0.25 ton/ha. The net average carbon balance of 1.94 ton/ha was equivalent to 117.44 tons of carbon per community forest annually. All the community forests were actively managed leading to a sustainable forest institution, which acts as a carbon sink. It is concluded that community forests have the potential to reduce emissions by avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, enhance forest carbon sink and improve livelihoods for local communities.     

新疆药桑组培育苗的方法与培养基筛选试验研究

新疆药桑的组培育苗需要经过初代培养、继代培养、生根培养、驯化移栽几个阶段。经试验比较筛选出了适合不同阶段生根发苗的培养基配方,并阐述了新疆药桑组培快繁的方法和步骤。     

Genotyping of Edwardsiella tarda isolated from freshwater fish culture system

The applicability of PCR-RFLP of 16S rDNA and conventional phenotypic methods for differentiation of Edwardsiella tarda associated in freshwater fish culture system was studied. In this study, by conventional biochemical tests and antibiotic resistant patterns 2 and 14 groups were obtained. But these methods failed to discriminate the isolates habitat wise. However, PCR-RFLP of 16S rDNA was found to be specific to detect habitat-specific isolates. All the fish isolates belonging to particular genotypes were found only in fish, not in water or sediment. Some of the genotypes were exclusively present in water and sediment. This study indicates the prevalence of site-specific genotypes in freshwater ecosystems. Molecular method is found to be superior to discriminate the E. tarda habitat wise to conventional typing methods.     

Novel antioxidant compounds from the aqueous extract of the roots of Decalepis hamiltonii (Wight and Arn.) and their inhibitory effect on low-density lipoprotein oxidation

Roots of Decalepis hamiltonii are consumed as pickles and as a health drink in southern India for their health benefits. The antioxidant properties of the root extracts have been shown previously; this paper reports the isolation of antioxidant compounds from the aqueous extract of the roots of D. hamiltonii. Five novel antioxidant compounds were isolated and characterized by NMR and MS. The compounds exhibited free radical scavenging activity in vitro and inhibited low-density lipoprotein oxidation. This study demonstrates that the root extract of D. hamiltonii is a cocktail of several antioxidant compounds with health implications.