Pharmacokinetics of Enrofloxacin and Its Metabolite Ciprofloxacin after Intramuscular Administration of Enrofloxacin in Goats

The pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin and its active metabolite ciprofloxacin were investigated in goats after a single intramuscular administration of enrofloxacin at 2.5 mg/kg body weight. The plasma concentrations of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were determined simultaneously by a HPLC method. The peak concentrations (C _max) of enrofloxacin (1.13 g/ml) and ciprofloxacin (0.24 g/ml) were observed at 0.8 and 1.2 h, respectively. The elimination half-life (t _1/2), volume of distribution (V _d(area)), total body clearance (Cl_B) and mean residence time (MRT) of enrofloxacin were 0.74 h, 1.42 L/kg, 1329 ml/h per kg and 1.54 h, respectively. The t _1/2, area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) and the MRT of ciprofloxacin were 1.38 h, 0.74 g h/ml and 2.73 h, respectively. The metabolic conversion of enrofloxacin to ciprofloxacin was appreciable (36%) and the sum of the plasma concentrations of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was maintained at or above 0.1 g/ml for up to 4 h. Enrofloxacin appears to be useful for the treatment of goat diseases associated with pathogens sensitive to this drug.     

First report of Calonectria cerciana causing leaf blight of Eucalyptus in northern India

Eucalyptus spp. and their hybrids are frequently cloned and mass planted across farmland tracts and commercial plantations in northern India. It is a viable feeder species to the paper and pulp industries in this region. In 2018 and 2019, during field surveys conducted in northern India, a serious leaf blight disease was frequently observed in E. tereticornis plantations. Isolation from the blighted leaf samples consistently yielded fungal isolates having Calonectria‐like morphology. Morphological features coupled with sequence analysis of partial β‐tubulin (TUB2) and partial translation elongation factor‐alpha (TEF1) gene regions of two fungal isolates confirmed the species as Ca. cerciana. In detached leaf assays and glasshouse inoculation experiments, both isolates produced symptoms similar to those observed on the naturally infected leaves. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by re‐isolating Ca. cerciana from the inoculated leaves. This work is the first to confirm that Ca. cerciana is associated with a serious leaf blight disease of Eucalyptus in northern India and is an important addition to the taxonomy of Calonectria fungi in India.     

Understanding genetic diversity in blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper] collections of Indian National Genebank

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper] is a protein rich pulse crop of Indian origin. The crop is cultivated in diverse range of agro-ecological regions,...     

Inheritance studies of characters associated with floating habit and their linkage relationship in rice

Summary Deep water rice varieties in general have certain peculiar characters which are associated with floating habit. These characters are (i) early nodal differentiation, (ii) nodal rooting, (iii) spreading habit, (iv) awned grains, (v) brown hull colour, (vi) red pericarp (red rice), and (vii) seed dormancy. Inheritance of these characters and linkage relationship of genes governing these characters were studied in a cross between Pankaj (non floating) and Nageribao (floating) rice varieties. Nageribao, a cultivar from Assam possesses these characters.Early nodal differentiation was observed to be controlled by a single dominant gene, designated as Nd. Nodal rooting was controlled by two dominant complementary genes, designated as Nr ₁ and Nr ₂. We found an inhibitory factor for spreading habit and one for brown hull colour in Pankaj; the operation of two dominant duplicate genes An ₁ and An ₂ for controlling awning characters, a single dominant gene Rd for red pericarp colour and a single dominant gene Gd for grain dormancy. Joint segregations between these characters resulted in the assignment of genes in the X linkage group of indica rices with estimated map distances based on the cross-over values. The genes An (awning), Es (spreading habit), Nr (nodal rooting) and Nd (nodal differentiation) were observed to be associated with each other. The gene for red pericarp (Rd) was observed to be linked with the grain dormaney gene Gd.     

Thermal Infrared Radiation for Assessing Crop Water Stress in Wheat

Field studies on differentially irrigated wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) crops were conducted at Pantnagar for two years to evaluate the use of thermal infrared radiation to detect crop water stress. Data show that the stress-degree-day index (mid day canopy-air temperature difference) is influenced by environmental variability other than soil moisture. Improvement in the stress-degree-day (SDD) index was achieved by including the measurements of vapor pressure deficit and approach was termed as plant water stress index (PWSI). Observations indicated that daily variation in SDD values due to meteorological changes was removed through PWSI. Better correlation was found between soil-induced leaf water potential and plant water stress index than between total leaf water potential and plant water stress index. It is concluded that remote sensing of thermal infrared radiation offers a promising technique which can be incorporated into irrigation management programme.     

Growth and reproduction of the vermicomposting earthwormPerionyx excavatus as influenced by food materials

An outdoor study was undertaken using polyethylene containers to assess the suitability of different organic residues, soybean straw (Glycine max L. Merril.), wheat straw (Triticum aestivum L.), maize stover (Zea mays L.), chickpea straw (citer arietinum L.) and city garbage, as food for the tropical epigeic earthwormPerionyx excavatus, and to assess the influence of this earthworm on the decomposition of these materials. Maize stover was found to be the most suitable of the food materials used. Population growth ofP. excavatus was enhanced by addition of these organic materials in the temperature range 24°-30°C, while the population was adversely affected above 30°C in a vermiculture system. Addition of earthworms accelerated the breakdown of residues, which ultimately resulted in a lowering of the C:N ratio, water-soluble carbon and carbohydrates, and increased ash percentage and cation exchange capacity compared with their respective controls.     

Genetic diversity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eremostachys superba</Emphasis> Royle ex Benth. (Lamiaceae), an endangered Himalayan species,as assessed by RAPD

Eremostachys superba Royle ex Benth. (Lamiaceae) has undergone a severe decline in population size since its discovery in the North-western Himalayas in late 19th century. One hundred and seventy-two plants from six populations in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, located between 0.45 km and 455.72 km apart from each other were evaluated for RAPD polymorphism. Sixteen random primers generated 92 bands overall, 77 of which were polymorphic. Shannon’s index of genetic diversity within populations (H _o) ranged between 0.305 and 0.421; the average within-population diversity (H _pop) was 0.389; and the total species diversity (H _sp) was 0.478. The population from Mohand (representing the type locality) had the fewest plants, at 18, and was genetically the most depauperate. Among the other populations, ranging in size between 52 and 1,022 individuals, no relation between population size and genetic diversity was evident. It is suggested that these six populations represent relics of a larger, extended population, in which the presence of perennating rootstocks has helped preserve historic patterns of genetic diversity. AMOVA revealed that 83.01% of the variation exists within populations, which was consistent with earlier studies on the reproductive biology of E. superba, which indicated this species is predominantly allogamous. FST distances between all populations were significant, indicating geographic differentiation despite some of them being closely separated. Habitat restoration and protection from indiscriminate harvesting are proposed as primary strategies for conserving E. superba. Rejuvenation of the Mohand population through intrapopulation crossing between plants bearing diverse molecular phenotypes is also suggested.     

Influence of tillage and crop residue on soil physical properties and yields of rice and wheat under shallow water table conditions

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of tillage and residue incorporation on soil properties and yields of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in rotation for 4 years on a silty clay loam of an Aquic Hapludoll with natural water table fluctuating between 0.05 and 0.97 m depth The rice experiment was laid out in split plot design with four levels of tillage, viz. conventional puddling (CP), puddling by four passes of rotavator (PR), reduced puddling by two passes of rotavator (ReP), and direct seeding without puddling (DSWP) and two levels of residue, viz. residue incorporation (RI) and residue removal (RR) in four replications. The treatments for wheat were zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT) with RI and RR superimposed over the plots of rice. Tillage for rice increased puddling index and bulk density (BD) over the years. The increase was significantly higher in CP and PR than in ReP. In wheat season, BD was higher under ZT than under CT but the differences were not significant. Puddling decreased saturated hydraulic conductivity with time, which became significantly lower in CP and PR in the fourth year than in ReP in the first year. Infiltration rate (IR) also decreased with time and was lowest in CP and PR. In wheat season, IR was at par under ZT and CT. Rice yield in PR was maximum and at par with that in ReP. But wheat yield was lowest in PR and highest in DSWP, and was at par in DSWP and ReP. Thus, rice yields were optimum under ReP, in which changes in soil properties were least, and wheat yields were optimum both under ZT and CT in the DSWP and ReP plots of rice under shallow water table conditions of the silty clay loam.     

TDP-43 mutations in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disorder characterized pathologically by ubiquitinated TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) inclusions. The function of TDP-43 in the nervous system is uncertain, and a mechanistic role in neurodegeneration remains speculative. We identified neighboring mutations in a highly conserved region of TARDBP in sporadic and familial ALS cases. TARDBPM337V segregated with disease within one kindred and a genome-wide scan confirmed that linkage was restricted to chromosome 1p36, which contains the TARDBP locus. Mutant forms of TDP-43 fragmented in vitro more readily than wild type and, in vivo, caused neural apoptosis and developmental delay in the chick embryo. Our evidence suggests a pathophysiological link between TDP-43 and ALS.