Clinical evaluation of detomidine-butorphanol-guaifenesin-ketamine as short term TIVA in Spiti ponies

Veterinarians working under remote field conditions are routinely presented with variety of surgical interventions in equines like castrations, management of wound, traumatic and congenital hernias and musculoskeletal disorders thus necessitating the use of general anaesthesia for management of these conditions. The present study was carried out to evaluate and recommend the suitable short term anaesthetic technique for Spiti ponies under field conditions. Seven clinically healthy male Spiti ponies presented for castration were evaluated for short term Total Intravenous Anaesthesia (TIVA) using detomidine (0.02 mg kg(-1)), butorphanol (0.01 mg kg(-1)), 5% guaifenesin (20 mg kg(-1)) and ketamine (2.0 mg kg(-1)). The studies conducted were open label trials and all the animals received same treatment. After proper tetanus prophylaxis and preanesthetic fasting, detomidine was administered intravenously. Subsequently at head down position the animals received butorphanol intravenously. Thereafter, guaifenesin was administered intravenously. As soon as the signs of ataxia developed, the induction of surgical anaesthesia was achieved by intravenous administration of ketamine hydrochloride. The onset of sedation was observed in 2.43 +/- 0.53 min following detomidine administration and the animals were ataxic in 1.43 +/- 0.43 min after butorphanol and guaifenesin administration when ketamine was injected. The ponies were in surgical plane of anaesthesia within 2.28 +/- 0.42 min following ketamine administration. During recovery the limb/head movement and sternal recumbency were attained in 18.71 +/- 1.98 and 26.14 +/- 1.62 min, respectively whereas standing ataxia and normal gait were seen at 29.42 +/- 3.21 and 71.14 +/- 4.74 min, respectively. There was excellent to good muscle relaxation. The surgical anaesthesia remained for 22.57 +/- 1.48 min. The recovery was smooth. Moderate to good suppression of palpebral and corneal reflexes were observed immediately after induction and during anaesthesia. The analgesia was excellent. A highly significant (p < 0.01) to significant (p < 0.05) decrease in respiration rate was observed after induction, during anaesthesia and after recovery. The mean SpO2 value in equines of this group was 76.50 +/- 4.14 and 83.33 +/- 4.18% after induction and during anaesthesia, respectively. Some of the blood biochemical parameters like plasma alanine amino transferase (ALT), total proteins and glucose showed significant increase without clinical consequence. It was concluded that detomidine (0.02 mg kg(-1)), butorphanol (0.01 mg kg(-1)), guaifenesin 5% (20 mg kg(-1)) and ketamine (2.0 mg kg(-1)) combination can safely be used for short term total intravenous anaesthesia in equines under field conditions where the monitoring facilities are meager.     

Integrating multispectral reflectance and fluorescence imaging for defect detection on apples

This research investigated multispectral imaging to detect various defects on apples. An integrated approach using multispectral imaging in reflectance and fluorescence modes was used to acquire images of three varieties of apples. Eighteen images from a combination of filters ranging from the visible region through the NIR region and from three different imaging modes (reflectance, visible light induced fluorescence, and UV induced fluorescence) were acquired for each apple as a basis for pixel-level classification into normal or disorder tissue. Artificial neural network classification models were developed for two classification schemes, a two-class and a multiple-class. In the two-class scheme, pixels were categorized into normal or disordered tissue, whereas in the multiple-class scheme, pixels were categorized into normal, bitter pit, black rot, decay, soft scald, and superficial scald tissues. A 10-fold cross validation technique was used to assess the performance of the neural network models. The integrated imaging model of reflectance and fluorescence was effective on Honeycrisp variety, whereas single imaging models of reflectance or fluorescence was effective on Redcort and Red Delicious. The technique is promising for accurate recognition of different types of disorder on apple.     

Hyperspectral waveband selection for internal defect detection of pickling cucumbers and whole pickles

Hyperspectral imaging under transmittance mode has shown potential for detecting internal defect, however, the technique still cannot meet the online speed requirement because of the need to acquire and analyze a large amount of image data. This study was carried out to select important wavebands for further development of an online inspection system to detect internal defect in pickling cucumbers and whole pickles. Hyperspectral transmittance/reflectance images were acquired from normal and defective cucumbers and whole pickles using a prototype hyperspectral reflectance (400-740 nm)/transmittance (740-1000 nm) imaging system. Up to four-waveband subsets were determined by a branch and bound algorithm combined with the k-nearest neighbor classifier. Different waveband binning operations were also compared to determine the bandwidth requirement for each waveband combination. The highest classification accuracies of 94.7 and 82.9% were achieved using the optimal four-waveband sets of 745, 805, 965, and 985 nm at 20 nm spectral resolution for cucumbers and of 745, 765, 885, and 965 nm at 40 nm spectral resolution for whole pickles, respectively. The selected waveband sets will be useful for online quality detection of pickling cucumbers and pickles.     

Physiology of Drought Tolerance in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Correlation between lysine, tryptophan and prolamine contents during maturation of the maize kernel
Changes in the contents of total nitrogen, prolamine, tryptophan and protein bound lysine, and the relative nutritive quality of proteins were studied during the maturation of three normal maize varieties, grown under the same topographical and agrotechnical conditions, in two successive crop years.
Total nitrogen was determined according to Kjeldahl's method, prolamine by the turbidity test, lysine by Carpenter's method and tryptophan was assessed fluorometrically.
A significant decrease (p = 0.01) in total nitrogen, tryptophan and bound lysine content in the dry grain matter was found in the late milk and early dough ripeness stages of the maize kernel. Parallel with the decrease in these components, the relative nutritive quality of proteins also decreased during maturation. Prolamine, which was present in the early milk stage in low quantities, increased significantly (p = 0.01) with kernel maturity, reaching the highest level in the early dough ripeness stage. During further kernel maturation no significant changes in the components studied were observed. The correlation coefficients between the contents of prolamine and total nitrogen, lysine and tryptophan, during the ripening of maize kernel were highly significant (p = 0.001): -0.891, -0.938, -0.856, respectively in the first crop year and –0.844, -0.833, -0.867, respectively in the second crop year.     

Growth and heritability estimates among clones of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dalbergia sissoo</Emphasis> Roxb. in a clonal seed orchard

The study of genetic variability is a prerequisite for any tree improvement program. Screening of clones showing the effect of dominance in growth and tree form is essential to identify productive clones, matched to sites. Our study performed in a clonal seed orchard at Lacchiwala of India, represented by 31 clones of Dalbergia sissoo (Shisham) Roxb. from diverse locations revealed significant variability at the 0.1% level of significance in various morphological traits. At the age of 13 years, clone 196 (Gonda) revealed maximum height of 20.2 m and a girth at breast height of 74.2 cm. The five identified clones viz. 196, 198, 192, 123 and 235 were well adapted to the climatic conditions of this zone, hence survived well and showed good performance compared to other clones. Heritability estimates of 87%, 83% and 80% for height, crown width and crown length respectively coupled with high genetic gains indicated strong genetic control of these variables. A correlation matrix of various growth attributes revealed positive correlation among these attributes. On the basis of the entire set of growth variables, the clones were grouped into two major clusters with three subgroups.     

Real-time PCR carried out on DNA extracted from serum or blood sample is not a good method for surveillance of bovine brucellosis

Bovine brucellosis is endemic in many parts of the world including India. The disease diagnosis and surveillance are usually carried out by serological tests, which however have drawbacks. This study was undertaken to evaluate the potential of real-time PCR (RT-PCR) targeting bcsp31 gene for surveillance of bovine brucellosis. A total of 461 samples, which included 408 stored serum and 53 prospective blood samples, were used. It was found that 33 (7.15 %) samples were positive by RT-PCR, whereas 149 (32.32 %) and 132 (28.63 %) were positive by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) or standard agglutination test (STAT), respectively. The results of this study suggest that RT-PCR targeting bcsp31 gene carried out on DNA extracted from serum or blood may not be a suitable method for surveillance of brucellosis in bovines.     

Effects of initial nematode population density and water regime on resistance and tolerance to the rice root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola in African and Asian rice genotypes

The rice root-knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne graminicola, is an important pathogen affecting rice production in South and Southeast Asia. Efficacy of resistance and tolerance in selected M. graminicola-resistant African rice genotypes TOG5674, TOG5675 and CG14 and -susceptible Asian rice genotypes IR64 and UPLRi-5 were examined under a range of initial population densities (Pi) and water regimes. Resistance to M. graminicola in resistant rice genotypes was not broken with increasing pathogen pressure (Pi = 15,000 to 60,000 J2/plant). Resistant rice genotypes were even tolerant to the damage and yield loss caused by high pathogen pressure. On the other hand, increasing Pi levels caused more damage on susceptible rice genotypes. Final nematode population densities in the root systems of resistant and susceptible rice genotypes were significantly lower under flooded conditions than under upland and drought conditions. TOG5674, TOG5675 and CG14 were more tolerant to M. graminicola infection even when grown under upland and drought conditions while IR64 and UPLRi-5 were highly sensitive.     

Design and implementation of agriculture research digital photo manager

Software tools for photo collection management are proliferating, but they are generally developed for personnel photo management and have limited searching and browsing functions. We implemented the Agriculture Research Digital Photo Manager (ARDPM) prototype to enable researchers, extension personnel and other users to efficiently manage, search and browse their research photo archives. Research Digital Photo Manager provides a set of visual Boolean query interfaces for multiple ways of organizing and viewing the same photo collection. It gives users powerful search capabilities. Using thumbnail display and an easy interface, ARDPM is designed to provide users powerful searching and browsing photo capabilities.     

The large-effect drought-resistance QTL qtl12.1 increases water uptake in upland rice

Drought stress is the most important abiotic factor limiting upland rice yields. Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) conferring improved drought resistance may facilitate breeding progress. We previously mapped a QTL with a large effect on grain yield under severe drought stress (qtl12.1) in the Vandana/Way Rarem population. In the current paper, we present results from a series of experiments investigating the physiological mechanism(s) by which qtl12.1 affects grain yield under drought conditions. We performed detailed plant water status measurements on a subset of lines having similar crop growth duration but contrasting genotypes at qtl12.1 under field (24 genotypes) and greenhouse (14 genotypes) conditions. The Way Rarem-derived allele of qtl12.1 was confirmed to improve grain yield under drought mainly through a slight improvement (7%) in plant water uptake under water-limited conditions. Such an apparently small increase in water uptake associated with this allele could explain the large effect on yield observed under field conditions. Our results suggest that this improvement of plant water uptake is likely associated with improved root architecture.     

Chemical constituents of Kigelia pinnata twigs and their GLUT4 translocation modulatory effect in skeletal muscle cells

Phytochemical investigation of the ethanolic extract of twigs of Kigelia pinnata DC. afforded one new iridoid 7-hydroxy eucommiol (1), and nine known compounds (2-10). The structure of compounds was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D, 2D NMR experiments and MS analysis. All these compounds were evaluated for GLUT4 translocation modulatory effect in skeletal muscle cells. Four of the tested compounds 1, 5, 6 and 7 showed significant stimulation of GLUT4 translocation to cell surface in skeletal muscle cells without any adverse effect on cell viability. Effect of these four compounds was concentration-dependent and comparable to standard drug rosiglitazone. These findings indicate that constituents of K. pinnata may provide leads for the therapeutics for insulin resistance and diabetes.