Studies on the Phase Mineralogy and Leaching Characteristics of Coal Fly Ash

The phase mineralogy and leaching characteristics of some Indian coal fly ashes were studied to assess their safe disposal in abandoned coal mines. Since, fly ash contains a number of toxic trace elements, the leaching of fly ash was tested using strong acid/alkali solutions and distilled water under different conditions (solid-liquid ratio, leaching time, pH) in the temperature range of 30-100 °C. It was found that the concentration of various metals in leachates depends on their chemical nature, association with mineral phases of ash and follows the almost similar concentration profile to that of iron, especially in acidic medium. The distribution of toxic trace elements in fly ash and their leachability were found to depend on the amount of unburnt carbon and iron in fly ash. In alkaline medium, leaching of iron and toxic trace elements (except As) from fly ash was very negligible. Hence, alkali treatment of coal fly ash is desirable for its safe use in refilling of coal mines.     

Ameliorative Effects of Melatonin against Hydrogen Peroxide‐Induced Oxidative Stress on Boar Sperm Characteristics and Subsequent In Vitro Embryo Development

Melatonin, the major secretory product of the pineal gland, scavenges a variety of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in vivo and in vitro, indicating that melatonin is a potent function as an antioxidant. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of melatonin in the presence or absence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) on sperm characteristics (motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and mitochondria activity) and also to examine the developmental rates to the blastocysts stage of porcine oocytes fertilized in vitro with semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nm ) in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ (250 μm ). The sperm were treated with melatonin in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ for 3, 6, 9 and 12 h at 37°C and then analysed for the sperm characteristics. The porcine embryos were produced by in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization (IVM/IVF) using semen treated with or without melatonin (100 nm ) in the presence or absence of H₂O₂ (250 μm ) for 6 h. The semen characteristics, including motility, viability, survival rate, membrane integrity and mitochondria activity, were higher in the groups that were treated with melatonin in comparison to other groups, irrespective of incubation periods. Malondialdehyde levels in control, melatonin and melatonin + H₂O₂ groups were lower than H₂O₂ only group. A positive correlation was shown among motility, viability, survival rate and membrane integrity, but a negative correlation was observed between LPO and the other evaluation methods. The developmental rates to blastocysts of IVM/IVF porcine oocytes fertilized by semen treated with melatonin were significantly increased compared with any other groups, with the cell number of blastocysts shown to have a similar trend to the developmental rates. These results demonstrate that melatonin can improve the semen characteristics during in vitro storage and support the developmental ability of IVM/IVF embryos in pigs.     

Antioxidative Effects of Astaxanthin against Nitric Oxide‐Induced Oxidative Stress on Cell Viability and Gene Expression in Bovine Oviduct Epithelial Cell and the Developmental Competence of Bovine IVM/IVF Embryos

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the fundamental mechanism of bovine oviduct epithelial cell (BOEC) co‐culture on developmental capacity of bovine in vitro oocyte maturation/in vitro fertilization (IVM/IVF) embryos. We examined the effects of astaxanthin against nitric oxide‐induced oxidative stress on cell viability by MTT assay, lipid peroxidation (LPO) by using thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reaction for malondialdehyde (MDA) and the expression of antioxidant genes (CuZnSOD, MnSOD and Catalase) or apoptosis genes (Bcl‐2, Caspase‐3 and Bax) by RT‐PCR in BOEC. We also evaluated the developmental rates of bovine IVM/IVF embryos co‐cultured with BOEC pre‐treated with astaxanthin (500 μm ) in the presence or absence of sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 1000 μm ) for 24 h. Cell viability in BOEC treated with SNP (50–2000 μm ) lowered, while astaxanthin addition (50–500 μm ) increased it in a dose‐dependent manner. Cell viability in astaxanthin plus SNP (1000 μm ) gradually recovered according to the increase in astaxanthin additions (100–500 mm ). The LPO in astaxanthin group (50–500 μM) gradually decreased in a dose dependent manner and among SNP or astaxanthin plus SNP group, SNP alone and astaxanthin (50 μM) plus SNP shown a significant increase than other groups (p < 0.05). Expression of apoptosis or antioxidant genes was detected by RT‐PCR. Bcl‐2 and antioxidant genes were detected in astaxanthin or astaxanthin plus SNP group, and Caspase‐3 and Bax genes were only found in SNP group. When bovine IVM/IVF embryos were cultured for 6–7 days under co‐culture system such as BOEC treated with astaxanthin in the presence or absence of SNP, the developmental ability to blastocysts in 500 μm astaxanthin group was the highest of all groups. These results suggest that astaxanthin has a antioxidative effect on cell viability and LPO of BOEC, and development of bovine IVM/IVF embryos due to the induction of antioxidant genes and suppression of apoptosis genes.     

Latent heat flux estimation in clear sky days over Indian agroecosystems using noontime satellite remote sensing data

A simplified evaporative fraction (Λ) based single-source energy balance scheme was tested with moderate resolution (1 km) noontime satellite observations to evaluate clear sky latent heat flux (λE) estimates over diverse agricultural landscapes. This approach uses two-dimensional (2D) scatter between land surface temperature (LST) and albedo to determine Λ. The operational utility of this scheme was demonstrated for estimating regional evapotranspiration and consumptive water use during rabi (November to April) crop growing season to predict pre-harvest wheat yield (error within 15.9% of reported mean) using time series data. The existence of triangular relations between Λ and LAI (leaf area index) or NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) was found with basal line (hypotenuse) linearly coupled with LAI or NDVI at low level of surface soil wetness. The analysis of diurnal course of in situ Λ proved the validity of constant-Λ hypothesis over pure, uniform, homogeneous crop canopies but showed irregular and wave-like patterns over heterogeneous, mixed crop canopies. The root mean square error (RMSE) of noontime and daytime average λE estimates with respect to in situ λE measurements were also smaller over homogeneous agricultural canopies (41 and 23 W m⁻²) with correlation coefficients (r) 0.94 and 0.96, respectively, from 135 clear sky datasets as compared to RMSE over heterogeneous ones (59 and 28 W m⁻² with r = 0.66 and 0.82, respectively from 22 datasets). The intercomparison with another Λ based approach (LST–NDVI 2D scatter) showed the supremacy of Λ determined from LST–albedo 2D scatter. The efficiency of LST–NDVI scatter was better during the dry down or water limited phases of crop growth only. The uncertainties of λE estimates were attributed to errors in core radiation budget inputs, relative loss of conservativeness of Λ due to canopy heterogeneity, and the inherent limitations of the single-source approach. There is further scope to reduce present λE uncertainties by combining the new findings on Λ (LST–albedo scatter)–NDVI triangular relations, diurnal Λ and two-source radiation budget.     

Comparison of experimentally Determined and Calculated Hydraulic Conductivities for two alluvial sandy loam Profiles

The dynamic water conductivity characteristics of two alluvial sandy loam profiles (Typic Ustochrepts) were determined following the ?instantaneous profile method”? by monitoring the temporal variation in soil moisture content and potential at different depths in the profile, as the downward movement of water in the nearly saturated profile continued with evaporation prevented. The experimental sites differed in bulk density, moisture retention functions as well as dynamic water conductivity characteristics K(O). The unsaturated hydraulic conductivities were also calculated from moisture retention functions following the methods suggested by Campbell(1974) and Ghosh (1977). The calculated conductivity values agreed fairly well with the field data for the light-textured soils studied and the calculated values can be used for all practical purposes.     

In vivo administration of ligands for chicken toll-like receptors 4 and 21 induces the expression of immune system genes in the spleen

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a group of conserved proteins that play an important role in pathogen recognition in addition to the initiation and regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. To date, several TLRs have been identified in chickens, each recognizing different ligands. TLR stimulation in chickens has been shown to play a role in host-responses to pathogens. However, the mechanisms through which TLRs modulate the chicken immune system have not been well examined. The present study was conducted to characterize the kinetics of responses to TLR4 and TLR21 stimulation in chickens following intramuscular injections of their corresponding ligands, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), respectively. To this end, relative expression of cytokine genes in the spleen was determined at 2, 6, 12 and 24 h after injection of TLR ligands. The results indicated that LPS strongly induced the up-regulation of some immune system genes early on in the response to treatment, including interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-10, and IL-1β. Furthermore, treatment with CpG ODN promoted the up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-II, IFN-γ and IL-10. The response to CpG ODN appeared to be somewhat delayed compared to the response to LPS. Moreover, we found a significant increase in IFN-α gene expression in response to LPS but not CpG ODNs. Future studies may be aimed to further characterize the molecular mechanisms of TLR activation in chickens or to exploit TLR agonists as vaccine adjuvants.     

Assessment of Genetic Variability in the Coding Sequence of Melatonin Receptor Gene (MTNR1A) in Tropical Arid Sheep Breeds of India

Seasonal behaviour in sheep, which varies in tropical and temperate environmental conditions, is a matter of study, because it can provide a clue to address the problem of seasonality in sheep. Melatonin receptor is the membrane‐bound G‐coupled receptor, sensing the message of photoperiodic cues thorough melatonin. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) studies were carried out to assess the variability of gene at G612A and C606T SNPs in MTNR1A gene, which have been studied to be markers for out‐of‐season breeding. Allelic frequency distribution corresponded to higher frequency of GG and CC genotype, in tropical arid sheep breed in comparison with temperate region sheep breed. PCR amplification of MTNR1A gene of 30 animals was performed and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identification was carried out using Lasergene software. Seven SNPs/mutations were identified, but most of them were synonymous, except the one G706A, leading to substitution of valine by isoleucine. Polyphen‐2 analysis of G706A mutation revealed that it is a benign mutation. Two important SNPs C426T and G555A, which were identified in temperate sheep breeds, could not be traced in Magra and Marwari breeds of sheep. Thus, the Magra and Marwari breeds of tropical, arid region demonstrated the presence of both polymorphic SNPs markers G612A and C606T, associated with out‐of‐season breeding. GG and CC genotypes were having a higher prevalence in the studied population.