Exploration of ready-to-eat soft Bora rice genotypes of Assam for submergence tolerance

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Assamese Bora rice lines are valuable genetic resource for their socio-economic importance and traditional usage. Being lowland rice lines of upper...     

Isotope-edited nuclear magnetic resonance: novel methodologies for investigating metabolism

While the use of NMR and stable isotopes in metabolism studies is hardly new, it is only recently that isotope-edited NMR spectroscopy has been applied in kinetic studies of glyphosate metabolism of soil microbes. NMR can detect multiple species simultaneously and non-destructively, yielding valuable information on structural identification of metabolites. T riple R esonance I sotope ED ited spectroscopy (TRIED), [²H]NMR, and [²H–¹³C] INEPT (I nsensitive N ucleus E nhancement through P olarization T ransfer) are three isotope-edited techniques which have been used in combination to examine the microbial degradation of glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine). Using ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labeled glyphosate, TRIED can detect multiple metabolites in crude matrices at submicrogram levels, an improvement over earlier techniques where milligrams were needed. It can detect 500 nanograms of ¹³C–¹⁵N-labeled compound in a crude sample (1 : 1400 mass ratio), only a few hours work being required. [²H]NMR and [²H–¹³C]INEPT were also used as complementary techniques to further examine metabolites whose ¹³C–¹⁵N bond has been cleaved. The three-isotope-edited methods produced results consistent with both radioactivity and HPLC analyses. Accordingly, we are able to detect minute levels of metabolites in the presence of complex mixtures, minimizing the costs and time of sample purification. ©1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Identification of Minimum Data Set Under Balanced Fertilization for Sustainable Rice Production and Maintaining Soil Quality in Alluvial Soils of Eastern India

The scarcity of non-renewable fertilizers resources and the consequences of climate change can dramatically influence the food security of future generation. Introduction of high yielding varieties, intensive cropping sequence and increasing demand of food grains day-by-day, application of recommended dose of fertilizers could not fulfill our targets due to outdated fertilizers recommendations are yet in practice. It not only alters soil quality, nutrient balance, microbial and enzymatic ecology but also affected productivity and sustainability of rice in Gangetic alluvial soils of India. The effect of fertilizers application based on “fertilizing the soil versus fertilizing the crop” which insure real balance between the applied and available soil nutrient is urgently needed. Hence, the present study was conducted during three consecutive crop seasons (2010, 2011, and 2012) to assess the effect of imbalance and balance fertilization based on initial soil test values and targeted yields, and to determine the effect of farmyard manure (FYM) when superimposed with balanced fertilizers on identification of minimum data set for the development soil quality, nutrient acquisition, and grain yield of rice. The six fertilizer treatments were laid out in a randomized block design with three replications. The treatments were: T₁-control (no fertilization), T₂-farmyard manure @ 5 t ha^?1, T₃-farmers practice (60:30:30 kg N:P₂O₅:K₂O ha^?1), T₄-precise application of mineral fertilizers based on initial soil test values (77:24:46 kg N:P₂O₅:K₂O ha^?1) for targeted grain yield of 4.0 t ha^?1, T₅-precise application of mineral fertilizers based on initial soil test values (74:23:43 kg N:P₂O₅:K₂O ha^?1) plus FYM (5 t ha^?1) for targeted grain yield of 4.0 t ha^?1 and T₆-precise application of mineral fertilizers based on initial soil test values (135:34:65 kg N:P₂O₅:K₂O ha^?1) for targeted rice grain yield of 5.0 t ha^?1. Result revealed that the targeted rice grain yield of 4.0 and 5.0 t ha^?1 was achieved in T₄ and T₆ treatments with 1.59% (4.06 t ha^?1) and –3.40% (4.83 t ha^?1) deviations, respectively. T₄, T_5, and T₆ significantly increased crop growth, nutrient uptake, available P (P_a) and K (K_a) and augmented rice grain yield by 10.6, 20.2 and 31.6%, respectively, over T₃. Microbial biomass carbon, soil respiration and enzymatic activity were enhanced significantly in T₅ as compared to T₆. Highest soil quality index was found in T₅ (0.95) followed by T₆ (0.90) and, lowest was in T₁ (0.63). The contribution of minimum data set (MDS) toward the SQI was in the descending order of ALP (30.6%) > SOC (21.5%) > K_a (11.3%) > PSM (9.68%) > N_a (8.51%). Overall, rice yield and soil quality was improved by using balance fertilization based on fertilizing the crop Vs fertilizing the soil in alluvial soils of India.     

Herbal drugs: Standards and regulation

The use of herbal drugs for the prevention and treatment of various health ailments has been in practice from time immemorial. Generally it is believed that the risk associated with herbal drugs is very less, but reports on serious reactions are indicating to the need for development of effective marker systems for isolation and identification of the individual components. Standards for herbal drugs are being developed worldwide but as yet there is no common consensus as to how these should be adopted. Standardization, stability and quality control for herbal drugs are feasible, but difficult to accomplish. Further, the regulation of these drugs is not uniform across countries. There are variations in the methods used across medicine systems and countries in achieving stability and quality control. The present study attempts to identify the evolution of technical standards in manufacturing and the regulatory guideline development for commercialization of herbal drugs.     

Evaluation of On-site Wastewater Disposal Systems in Mississippi Coastal Areas

Groundwater and surface water contamination have been linked to inadequate or failing on-site residential wastewater treatment and disposal systems. The potential for groundwater contamination in coastal areas with shallow water tables is higher; subsequently the ability of soil, microorganisms, and vegetation to mitigate pollutants may be reduced. This study evaluated the performance of the four types of on-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems predominantly used on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. One type of system was deemed inappropriate for this region as none of the dozens of installations examined were functioning acceptably. Of the remaining three types, subsurface water samples were collected from representative sites using lysimeters and monitoring wells. Apart from general performance evaluation of these systems, seasonal changes translating into possible variation in disposal efficiencies and groundwater contamination were investigated. Statistical analysis of variations in organics (COD and BOD₅), nitrogen (TKN and NH ₄ ⁺ ?CN), and fecal coliform concentrations was used to identify probable deficiencies in systems tested and to recommend changes to governing standards.     

Experience and confidence of final year veterinary students in performing desexing surgeries

AIMS: To describe the level of experience and confidence of veterinary students in performing canine and feline desexing procedures at the end of their final clinical year.

METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with veterinary students at Massey University in November 2017 after completion of their final clinical year. The questions included career plans after graduation, number of assisted and unassisted desexing procedures performed, approximate time to complete desexing surgeries, level of confidence with different aspects of desexing surgeries, what aspects of their desexing surgery training were most helpful, and what could be done to improve training in desexing surgical skills in veterinary school.

RESULTS: The survey was completed by 70/95 (74%) students in their final clinical year. Among respondents, 55/70 (70%) had performed >2 unassisted feline neuters before graduation. However 38/70 (54%) students had never performed an unassisted feline spay, 31/70 (44%) had never performed an unassisted canine neuter, and 44/70 (63%) students had never performed an unassisted canine spay. The median reported times to complete a feline neuter, feline spay, canine neuter, and canine spay were 9, 40, 30 and 60 minutes, respectively. The median level of confidence for these procedures were 9, 6, 7 and 5 (on a scale from 1=least confident to 10=most confident), respectively. The reported time to complete procedures and the confidence in performing procedures did not change markedly with increasing total number of procedures performed. Students were most concerned about their ability to perform the desexing procedures in a reasonable amount of time and to prevent post-operative bleeding from occurring. Students were least concerned with their ability to manage post-operative pain in patients and to select the appropriate suture material. Free-text comments revealed that 62/70 (89%) students wanted more hands-on surgical experience prior to graduation.

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVENCE: Many students are currently completing veterinary school with limited experience and low confidence with performing routine canine and feline desexing procedures. Further research is needed to identify the most effective ways for addressing this issue within the constraints of the veterinary curriculum and teaching hospital resources.     

Biochemical analysis of uterine fluid for identification of indicators for subclinical endometritis in the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Alterations in biochemical constituents of uterine fluid have been suggested for diagnosis of subclinical uterine infection in the bovine. This study was undertaken to investigate whether uterine fluid biomolecules could act as tool for diagnosis of subclinical endometritis in the buffalo. Uterine fluid samples from normal (n = 22) and subclinical endometritis (n = 18; diagnosed based on uterine cytology)‐affected buffaloes were subjected to biochemical analysis. Among the different biochemical constituents estimated, urea, urea N, cholesterol, total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) concentrations were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in uterine fluid obtained from subclinical endometritis‐affected buffaloes. The extent of difference between normal and subclinical endometritis‐affected buffaloes was highest in ALP (69%) followed by cholesterol (55%), bilirubin (48%), urea (30%) and urea N (30%) concentrations. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the likelihood ratio (LR) was 3.63 for urea, indicating that buffaloes having less than the threshold concentration (47.5 mg/dl) of urea in their uterine fluid were at 3.6 times more risk to be affected with SE. The LRs for urea N, cholesterol, ALP and bilirubin were 2.33, 2.54, 2.12 and 1.65, respectively. It was concluded that ALP, urea, urea N and cholesterol concentrations in uterine fluid may serve as an aid for diagnosing subclinical endometritis in the buffalo.     

Functional risk assessment of handling of sheep housing and pasture areas at a scrapie-infested farm in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania

In the wake of a scrapie monitoring programme 2002 in Mecklenburg-Westpomerania a total of 10 positive cases were identified after culling at a suffolk-farm with about 1000 animals. Scientific based recommendations are difficult to judge as longitudinal studies and subsequent quantitative risk factors regarding the epidemiology of scrapie are either not available or conflicting. Given this background a risk assessment was developed that is based on the probability of validated risk factors considering special husbandry and circumstances at the very farm.