Activin receptor type IIB in rohu (Labeo rohita): molecular characterization,tissue distribution and immunohistochemical localization during different stages of gonadal maturation

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry - Activin receptor type IIB (ActRIIB) is a transmembrane serine/threonine kinase receptor which plays a pivotal role in regulating the reproduction in vertebrates...     

Analysis of existing agroforestry practices in Madhupur Sal forest: an assessment based on ecological and economic perspectives

A study was conducted in Madhupur sal forest of Tangail, Bangladesh to identify the suitable agroforestry practices of the area. Considering the ecological aspects of different agroforestry practices 10 sample plots (10 m × 10 m) from each land uses were taken, including natural forest to get a comparative scenario. The study showed that among the different agroforestry practices, Margalef and Shannon-Weiner index values are the maximum for pineapple agroforestry and lower for banana agroforestry, and Evenness index value is the maximum for lemon agroforestry. Determination of tree biomass in different land uses revealed that it is highest (3 078.6 kg/100 m²) in natural forest followed by pineapple agroforestry, lemon agroforestry and banana agroforestry. Soil pH, moisture content, organic matter, organic carbon, phosphorus and total nitrogen showed statistically significant variation while bulk density, particle density, sulphur and potassium did not show any statistically significant variation among the land uses. Soil fertility status showed that pineapple agroforestry is more fertile than rest of other land uses. The Net Present Value (NPV) indicated that banana agroforestry is financially more profitable than other two systems, while the Benefit-Cost ratio (BCR) is higher in pineapple agroforestry (4.21 in participatory agroforestry and 3.35 in privately managed land). Even though banana agroforestry gives higher NPV, capital required for this practice is much higher. The findings suggest that pineapple agroforestry has a tendency towards becoming ecologically and economically more sound than other two practices as it has better ecological attributes and required comparatively low investment.     

Degradation of sulfosulfuron,a sulfonylurea herbicide,as influenced by abiotic factors

A laboratory experiment was conducted to study the stability of sulfosulfuron [1-(2-ethylsulfonylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-ylsulfonyl)-3-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2yl) urea] in a controlled environment of pH, temperature, solvent, and surface. In another experiment the photostability of sulfosulfuron was studied after irradiation under sunlight. Under alkaline condition, it yielded 1-(2-ethylsulfonylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl-3-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl) amine, and under acidic condition it degraded to 1-(2-ethylsulfonylimidazo[1,2-a] pyridin)-3-sulfonamide and 4,6-dimethoxy-2-aminopyrimidine. Photodegradation included breaking of a sulfonylurea bridge, as in the case of acidic hydrolysis and contraction of the sulfonylurea bridge was the major pathway of alkaline hydrolysis.     

Response surface optimization and artificial neural network modeling of microwave assisted natural dye extraction from pomegranate rind

The extracted dye from brown dry rind of the pomegranate has been used as natural colorant for textiles from ancient times. In this study, microwave assisted extraction (MAE) has been used for extraction for dye from dried pomegranate rind. The effect of three independent parameters namely extraction time (25–90 s), pH of solution (3.5–8) and amount of pomegranate rind (0.5–1.5 g) was considered. Response surface methodology (RSM) is applied to optimize the effects of processing parameters of extraction on the yield of dye and a computer-stimulated artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed to get a good correlation between the input variables responsible for extraction and the output parameter (concentration of dye) of extraction from pomegranate rind. Considering the yield of dye extraction and the feasibility of the experiment, the optimum conditions of dye extraction are extraction time 90 s, pH 3.5, amount of sample 1.48. Application of microwave irradiation method proved to be a rapid and improved technique for dye extraction and significantly reduced the extraction time. The optimization procedure shows a close interaction between the experimental and simulated values for dye extraction.     

Performance of growing lambs fed processed karanj (Pongamia glabra) oil seed cake as partial protein supplement to soybean meal

The aim of this study was to determine whether processed karanj (Pongamia glabra) oil seed cake can be used as a supplement to partially replace soybean meal (SBM). Male lambs (n = 24) of uniform body weight (12.88 ± 0.15 kg) were equally allotted at random to a SBM‐based control (CON) and three test concentrate mixtures, containing detoxified solvent extracted karanj cake (SKC) using three processing methods: water washing (WW), 2.5% lime (LM) and 0.4% binder (BN) treatment. The processed SKC replaced 50% nitrogen of SBM of CON. The respective concentrate mixtures were fed along with ad libitum chaffed oat (Avena sativa) straw for 196 days. Dry matter intake was significantly (p < 0.01) lower on WW, LM and BN. Apparent digestibility coefficient of nutrients was comparable, except for total carbohydrates, which was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in LM and BN. Total gain, average daily gain and feed: gain ratio was comparable (p > 0.05) between the CON and WW diets but significantly lower in LM and BN groups. Yield of greasy wool was lower (p < 0.05) in BN group. Comparable dry matter and nutrient (crude protein and total digestible nutrients) conversion efficiency was observed on CON and WW diet but the lambs on the LM and BN diets exhibited lower (p < 0.01) conversion efficiency. It is concluded that SKC after water washing could replace 50% of SBM nitrogen in protein supplementation.     

Development of Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] core collection based on agro-morphological traits

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] is a major edible oil crop of India. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research—National Bureau of Plant...     

Influence of Organic Matter Vis-à-Vis Humic Acid on the Transformation of Inorganic and Organic Forms of Nitrogen in a Typic Haplustept Soil

A laboratory experiment was conducted to study the changes in inorganic and organic forms of nitrogen (N) in a Typic Haplustept soil treated with mustard cake vis-à-vis humic acid in the presence and absence of inorganic N. Results revealed that irrespective of treatments, significantly higher amount of soluble nitrate (NO₃^-), hydrolysable ammonium (NH₄⁺), non-hydrolysable and total N were accumulated in the soil treated with mustard cake in the presence of inorganic N. However, on the other hand, a humic acid-treated system showed significantly higher content of exchangeable NH₄⁺ and hexosamine N. Application of humic acid alone leads to the accumulation of a significantly higher amount of total hydrolysable and unidentified N in the soil. Among the different treatments, NH₄⁺ fixation was more in mustard cake followed by humic acid-treated soil. Humic acid is more susceptible to mineralization than mustard cake, particularly with respect to total N accumulation in soils.     

Tagging: on the use of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags for the identification of fish

To determine the efficacy of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags for marking rohu Labeo rohita (Ham.) in the selective breeding programme, a series of experiments has been carried out at the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) under the Indo–Norwegian project of ‘Selective breeding of rohu’. Six groups of rohu fingerlings with weight ranging from 2 g to 20 g were tagged with PIT tags to determine a suitable size range for tagging. Fingerlings weighing 8–15 g were found to be quite suitable for tagging with a PIT tag. Recovery of the PIT tag depends upon the survival of tagged fish under field conditions. Rejection of the PIT tag by rohu was observed to be only 0.05%. Through effective management practice, the survival of tagged fish increased up to 95%, and thus tag loss was minimized.     

Influence of cell volume changes on protein synthesis in isolated hepatocytes of air-breathing walking catfish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clarias batrachus</Emphasis>)

The present study aimed at determining the effect of cell volume changes on protein synthesis, measured as the incorporation of [³H]leucine into acid-precipitable protein, in isolated hepatocytes of air-breathing walking catfish (Clarias batrachus). The rate of protein synthesis, which was recorded to be 10.02 ± 0.10 (n = 25) nmoles mg⁻¹ cell protein h⁻¹ in isotonic incubation conditions, increased/decreased significantly by 18 and 48%, respectively, following hypo- (−80 mOsmol l⁻¹)/hypertonic (+80 mOsmol l⁻¹) incubation conditions (adjusted with NaCl), with an accompanying increase/decrease of hepatic cell volume by 12 and 20%, respectively. Similar cell volume-sensitive changes of protein synthesis were also observed when the anisotonicity of incubation medium was adjusted with mannitol. Increase of hepatic cell volume by 9%, due to addition of glutamine plus glycine (5 mM each) to the isotonic control incubation medium, led to a significant increase of protein synthesis by 14%. Decrease of hepatic cell volume by 15 and 18%, due to addition of dibutyl-cAMP and adenosine in isotonic control incubation medium, led to a significant decrease of protein synthesis by 30 and 34%, respectively. Thus, it appears that the increase/decrease of hepatic cell volume, caused either by changing the extracellular osmolarity or by the presence of amino acids or certain other metabolites, leads to increase/decrease of protein synthesis, respectively, and shows a direct correction (r = 0.99) between the hepatic cell volume and protein synthesis in walking catfish. These cell volume-sensitive changes of protein synthesis probably help this walking catfish in fine tuning the different metabolic pathways for better adaptation during cell volume changes and also to avoid the adverse affects of osmotic stress. This is the first report of cell volume-sensitive changes of protein synthesis in hepatic cells of any teleosts.     

Role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the regulation of reproduction: study based on catfish model

Significance of NPY in the regulation of GnRH–LH axis was evaluated. Considerable NPY immunoreactivity was seen in the components like olfactory system, basal telencephalon, preoptic and tuberal areas, and the pituitary gland that serve as neuroanatomical substrates for processing reproductive information. Close anatomical association as well as colocalizations of NPY and GnRH were seen in the olfactory receptor neurons, olfactory nerve fibers and their terminals in the glomeruli, ganglion cells of nervus terminalis, medial olfactory tracts, fibers in the ventral telencephalon and pituitary. In the pituitary, NPY fibers seem to innervate the GnRH as well as LH cells. Intracranial administration of NPY resulted in significant increase in the GnRH immunoreactivity in all the components of the olfactory system. In the pituitary, NPY augmented the population of GnRH fibers and LH cells. HPLC analysis showed that salmon GnRH content in the olfactory organ, bulb, preoptic area+telencephalon and pituitary was also significantly increased following NPY treatment. NPY may play a role in positive regulation of GnRH throughout the neuraxis and also up-regulate the LH cells in the pituitary.