Pheromones in the Management of Major Lepidopterous and Coleopterous Pests of Cotton

Cotton is infested by over 30 pests belonging to lepidoptera and coleoptera. Amongst these insects, various bollworms and cotton boll weevil cause economic damage every year. In IPM, pheromones are considered to be an essential component because they are used for detecting the economic threshold levels of pest populations and for mating disruption as a direct pest suppression measure. Pheromones of major pests have been found to be effective, economic and eco-friendly in agro-ecosystems in which cotton is cultivated.     

The efficacy of praziquantel (Droncit R) against Raillietina tetragona (Molin, 1958) in domestic fowl

The efficacy of different dose rates of Praziquantel (Droncit R) in tablet and liquid (injectable) form against Raillietina tetragona in the domestic fowl was studied. A dose of 10 mg kg-1 of Praziquantel in tablet form and 0.15 ml kg-1 in liquid form was found to be effective against R. tetragona infection irrespective of age, sex and intensity of infestation of the host. Intramuscular (IM) administration of liquid Praziquantel was found to be more effective than subcutaneous (SC) administration. Susceptibility of the parasite to this drug increased with age.     

Novel report on mutation in exon 3 of myostatin (MSTN) gene in Nilagiri sheep: an endangered breed of South India

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The variability in breeding program leads to rapid loss of genetic potential for which National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources is emphasized to conserve...     

Effect of effluent from a shrimp pond on shoot biomass of mangrove seedlings

Growth in terms of shoot dry weight was studied in five species of mangroves, namely Avicennia marina, A. officinalis, Ceriops decandra, Rhizophora apicuhta and R. mucronata, raised in shrimp pond-derived effluent. The effluent had significant negative effect over diluted effluents on shoot dry weight in R. apiculata and C. decandra, but not in the other three species, in general, the effluent, when diluted by 70%, improved the shoot biomass production of mangrove seedlings.     

Haemato-biochemical,non-specific immunity,antioxidant capacity and histopathological changes in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Labeo rohita</Emphasis> fingerlings fed rubber protein isolate

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the haemato-biochemical, innate immune response, antioxidant capacity and histopathological changes in Labeo rohita fingerlings fed rubber protein isolates (RPI). One hundred and eighty fingerlings (average weight 4.45 ± 0.01 g) were distributed into five experimental groups in triplicate and fed with isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets. Soybean protein isolate (SPI) served as the reference diet (Control), and the treatment diets were formulated as RPI₂₅, RPI₅₀, RPI₇₅ and RPI₁₀₀ replacing 25, 50, 75 and 100% of SPI protein, respectively. The growth performance indices like final body weight (9.54–10.27 g), net weight gain (5.09–5.84 g), metabolic growth rate (4.54–5.02) and feed efficiency ratio (0.60–0.65) among the various groups were not significantly different (P > 0.05). All the haematological parameters, except red blood cells, showed no significant differences compared with the control group (P > 0.05). The immuno-biochemical parameters like albumin, globulin, total immunoglobulin, respiratory burst and lysozyme activities among the various groups did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). The stress enzyme such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde (MDA) showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). Histopathological examination of the liver revealed no marked changes. In summary, the results showed that RPI was well utilised by the fish and its inclusion did not generate any oxidative-induced stress, thus, RPI may be suggested as a potential replacement for SPI in fish diets without any detrimental effects. Hence, protein isolation offers a unique opportunity for the utilisation of rubber seed meal.     

Effect of Solar Radiation Deficit on Rice Productivity

A field study was undertaken to understand the effect of low light in Rice involving the cultures and four cultivars. Light stress was found to decrease total biomass, yield and yield components. The reduction in the ultimate grain yield was found to be affected due to the increased number of ill-filled spikelets. Low light tolerant varieties viz., IET 10436, IET 11058, Ponni and Bhavani were found to withstand the light stress and recorded nominal yield by maintaining minimal reduction in all the desired parameters.     

Swine coronaviruses (SCoVs) and their emerging threats to swine population,inter-species transmission,exploring the susceptibility of pigs for SARS-CoV-2 and zoonotic concerns

Swine coronaviruses (SCoVs) are one of the most devastating pathogens affecting the livelihoods of farmers and swine industry across the world. These include transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV), porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV), swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), and porcine delta coronavirus (PDCoV). Coronaviruses infect a wide variety of animal species and humans because these are having single stranded-RNA that accounts for high mutation rates and thus could break the species barrier. The gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and nervous systems are the primary organ systems affected by SCoVs. Infection is very common in piglets compared to adult swine causing high mortality in the former. Bat is implicated to be the origin of all CoVs affecting animals and humans. Since pig is the only domestic animal in which CoVs cause a wide range of diseases; new coronaviruses with high zoonotic potential could likely emerge in the future as observed in the past. The recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing COVID-19 pandemic in humans, has been implicated to have animal origin, also reported from few animal species, though its zoonotic concerns are still under investigation. This review discusses SCoVs and their epidemiology, virology, evolution, pathology, wildlife reservoirs, interspecies transmission, spill-over events and highlighting their emerging threats to swine population. The role of pigs amid ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic will also be discussed. A thorough investigation should be conducted to rule out zoonotic potential of SCoVs and to design appropriate strategies for their prevention and control.     

Free radicals scavenging efficiency of a few naturally occurring flavonoids: a comparative study

The interaction of antiperoxidative flavonoids artocarpin (AR), cycloartocarpin (CAR), dalspinin (DP), dalspinosin (DPO), and dalspinin-7-O-galactoside (DPG) with 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation (ABTS(.+)) and O2(-.) was studied in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The ability of these compounds to inhibit lipid peroxidation and DNA scission was also investigated. The radical scavenging efficiency of flavonoids is demonstrated by the reduction of nitrogen-centered radical cation (ABTS(.+)). The reduction of ABTS(.+) follows the order quercetin > morin > Trolox > AR > DPO > CAR > DP. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation was studied by following Mb(IV) reduction, induced by lipid, arachidonic acid. These results are compared with those obtained for well-known antioxidants such as quercetin, morin, and Trolox. The structure-activity relationships between chemical structures of the flavonoids and their radical scavenging activities are anlayzed. The scavenging of O2(-.), inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and DNA damage depend on the oxidation potential of the flavonoids. The possible mechanism for radical scavenging activities of flavonoids in relation to their structure is also outlined.