Restoration of saline land by halophytes for Indian soils

Usually saline soils were reclamized by chemical or mechanical remediation, since the cost of leaching technique for saline soil reclamation is higher in India. In the present study an attempt has been made to investigate to identify the fast and luxuriantly growing halophytic herbs which are salt accumulators and to assess the feasibility of salt bioaccumulation. From the results it is concluded that among six species studied Suaeda maritima and Sesuvium portulacastrum exhibited greater accumulation of salts in their tissues as well as higher reduction of salts in the soil medium.     

Differential regulation of pro- and antiapoptotic proteins in fish adipocytes during hypoxic conditions

Worldwide, the frequencies and magnitudes of hypoxic events in estuarine waters have increased considerably over the past two decades. Fish populations are suitable indicators for the assessment of quality of aquatic ecosystems and often comprise a variety of adaptation systems by triggering oxidants, antioxidants and hypoxia-responsive signaling proteins. Signaling pathway may lead to cell survival or cell death which is fine-tuned by both positive and negative factors, which includes hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α), heat-shock protein-70 (HSP70), phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2 (p-JNK1/2) and apoptosis signal-regulating kinase-1 (ASK1). In the present study, we attempt to determine stress-mediated signaling changes and molecular mechanism behind the cell survival by comparing adipocytes of fish from field hypoxic condition and laboratory-induced hypoxic condition (in vitro hypoxia). Comparison of field and laboratory studies in fish adipocytes showed differential expression of HIF1α, HSP70, p-JNK1/2 and ASK1 with altered oxidants and antioxidants. Further, the results also suggest that in vitro hypoxic conditions mimic field hypoxic conditions. Trends of hypoxia response were same in in vitro hypoxia of control adipocytes as in Ennore estuary, and hypoxia response was more pronounced in the test adipocytes under in vitro hypoxic condition. Results of the present work suggest that hypoxia is the major crusade of water pollutants affecting fish by differential regulation of pro- and antiapoptotic proteins probably through HSP70. This may play a vital role by providing cytoprotection in pollutant-induced stressed fish adipocytes substantiated by the in vitro hypoxic studies.     

Association of bovine KISS1 single nucleotide polymorphisms with reproductive traits in Indian Cattle

Kisspeptins, a family of neuropeptide encoded by the Kiss1 gene, have emerged as crucial regulator of fertility and reproduction by regulating the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. The present study was aimed to identify and associate SNPs in the KISS1 gene with reproductive traits in cattle of Indian origin. DNA samples collected from 300 individual cows of three Indian dairy breeds (Gir, Kankrej and Frieswal) of cattle were used in the study. The SNPs of KISS1 gene were identified with PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis using two sets of primer pairs. A total of 5 SNPs were identified in the targeted region of which, two were selected for screening the population and association studies. The analysis revealed that genotypes of rs442633552G>A and rs42022871C>T had a significant association with dry period. The SNP rs42022871C>T also established significant role in milk production traits, and selection of TT-genotyped animals will improve the reproduction and production potential of the animals.     

Protective effect of berberine on expression pattern of apoptotic, cell proliferative, inflammatory and angiogenic markers during 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis

Investigation of expression pattern of molecular markers in oral epithelial tissues would help to assess the cell differentiation and proliferation as well as early diagnosis of precancerous and cancerous lesions of the oral cavity. Aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of berberine on expression pattern of apoptotic, cell proliferative, inflammatory and angiogenic markers during 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis. Immunohistochemical staining [p53, Bcl-2, Bax, Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)], Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) [c-fos, COX-2, caspase-3 and -9] and Real-Time PCR [Cyclin D1 and NFkappaB] were utilized to assess the expression pattern of molecular markers in DMBA induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis. Over expression of mutant p53, PCNA, Bcl-2 and VEGF were noticed in hamsters treated with DMBA alone. Decreased expression of Bax protein was noticed in hamsters treated with DMBA alone. Increased expression of C-fos, COX-2, NFkappaB and Cyclin D1 and decreased activities of caspase-3 and -9 were also noticed in hamsters treated with DMBA alone. Oral administration ofberberine at a dose of 75 mg kg(-1) b.w. brought back the expression of above mentioned molecular markers to near normal pattern in hamsters treated with DMBA. The present results thus suggest that berberine has potent anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, anti-cell proliferative and apoptosis inducing properties in DMBA induced oral carcinogenesis.     

Prevalence of peste des petits ruminants among sheep and goats in India

This study measured the clinical prevalence of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) among sheep and goats in India between 2003 and 2009 by analyzing clinical samples from suspected cases of PPR that were submitted to the Rinderpest and Allied Disease Laboratory, Division of Virology, IVRI, Mukteswar for PPR diagnosis. PPR outbreaks were confirmed by detecting PPR virus (PPRV)-specific antigen in the clinical samples. Clinical samples (blood, nasal swabs, spleen, lymph node, kidney, liver, intestine, and pooled tissue materials) were taken from a total of 592 sheep and 912 goats in different states of India and screened for the presence of PPRV antigen using a monoclonal antibody-based sandwich ELISA kit. A total of 20, 38, and 11 laboratory-confirmed PPR outbreaks occurred among sheep, goat, and combined sheep and goat populations, respectively. Our findings provide evidence of widespread PPR endemicity in India. The underlying reasons could be variations in husbandry practices in different geographical regions, agro-climatic conditions, and livestock migration. Furthermore, decrease in the number of PPR outbreaks over time might be due to the effectiveness of current live PPR vaccines and timely vaccination of target species. Vaccination against PPR has been practiced in India since 2002 to control this disease.     

Removal of Fatty Acids from Palm Oil Effluent by Combined Electro-Fenton and Biological Oxidation Process

The objective of this paper is to design a pilot plant electrochemical reactor and to prove the operational concept of the electrochemical production of ferrate in situ and its online application for sewage treatment. To that end, the first part of this paper focuses on the analysis of the main engineering aspects of the reactor and the electrochemical process that affect the ferrate production, using laboratory scale experiments such as the interelectrode gap, the space-time yield, the area/volume (A/V) ratio, the current efficiency, and the energy consumption. The second part focuses on the production of ferrate using a pilot plant scale to prove the operational concept of the electrochemical generation of ferrate in situ and its online application as a step towards its full scale application for water and wastewater treatment.     

Effect of a vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus epigaeus) on herbicide uptake by roots

 Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi increase root uptake of P and other minerals, but their role in the uptake of herbicides has received far less attention. These experiments were conducted to determine the effect of the VAM fungus, Glomus epigaeus (Daniels and Trappe), on the absorption of atrazine and trifluralin by roots of corn and soybean. Atrazine uptake by excised corn-root segments was consistently increased by the VAM fungus, but VAM enhancement of atrazine uptake by soybeans was less than that observed for corn. Roots from corn grown for 8 weeks in the greenhouse prior to the experiment took up 25 pmol mm^–3 root, whereas non-mycorrhizal roots took up only 11 pmol mm^–3 root. Soybean and corn root uptake of trifluralin was also enhanced by VAM infection. Addition of P did not increase herbicide uptake by non-VAM plants. The direct role of VAM hyphae on atrazine uptake was demonstrated using a two-chamber system, where only the fungal hyphae had access to ¹⁴C-atrazine-treated soil. Hyphal systems of the fungus were able to remove and transfer ¹⁴C-atrazine residues from soil to corn plants, demonstrating direct uptake of the herbicide by the fungal hyphae. Received: 1 July 1998     

High-quality binary protein interaction map of the yeast interactome network

Current yeast interactome network maps contain several hundred molecular complexes with limited and somewhat controversial representation of direct binary interactions. We carried out a comparative quality assessment of current yeast interactome data sets, demonstrating that high-throughput yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening provides high-quality binary interaction information. Because a large fraction of the yeast binary interactome remains to be mapped, we developed an empirically controlled mapping framework to produce a "second-generation" high-quality, high-throughput Y2H data set covering approximately 20% of all yeast binary interactions. Both Y2H and affinity purification followed by mass spectrometry (AP/MS) data are of equally high quality but of a fundamentally different and complementary nature, resulting in networks with different topological and biological properties. Compared to co-complex interactome models, this binary map is enriched for transient signaling interactions and intercomplex connections with a highly significant clustering between essential proteins. Rather than correlating with essentiality, protein connectivity correlates with genetic pleiotropy.     

Comparison of plasmid profile analysis, antibiogram testing, resistotyping and biotyping in the identification of Escherichia coli isolates from poultry.

Twenty isolates of Escherichia coli from poultry, predominantly from birds with colibacillosis, were collected and plasmid profile analysis, antibiogram testing, resistotyping and biotyping were compared as epidemiological tools for the differentiation and identification of the isolates. Plasmid profile analysis, in conjunction with any one of the other three tests, was found to be more valuable as an epidemiological tool than one test alone.