Evaluation of Various Drying Methods on Bioactives,Ascorbic Acid and Antioxidant Potentials of Talinum triangulare L., foliage

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of different drying methods (room, sun, oven, microwave, cross-flow, infra-red, dehumidifier, and freeze-drying)...     

Studies on the growth rate of the grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes) fed on two aquatic weeds and a terrestrial grass

The growth rate of grass carp fed with hybrid napier was found to be nearly three times the growth attained with Hydrilla and about five times the growth attained with Ceratophyllum. The gross conversion ratio on fresh weight basis with hybrid napier was on average 26.99 : 1, while with Hydrilla and Ceratophyllum it was 93.98 : 1 and 128.43 : 1 respectively. The average net production of grass carp fed on hybrid napier worked out to 1579.3 kg/ha in 182 days.     

Indol-3-ylacetic acid- and calmodulin-regulated Ca2+-ATPase: A target for the phytotoxic action of hexachlorocyclohexane

In rice seedlings, the organochlorine insecticide hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and its four major isomers—α,β, γ, and δ—have been shown to elicit their phytotoxic action by interacting with indol-3-ylacetic acid (IAA)-regulated growth and Ca²⁺-ATPase activity. When rice seedlings were grown in the presence of 0.34 mM HCH, seedling vigour was reduced to 33% of the control. A similar effect was observed when seedlings were grown in the presence of the γ and δ isomers, but not with the α and δ isomers of HCH. This reduced vigour could be restored by treating the seedlings with 100 nM IAA, suggesting that HCH and its isomers (γ and δ) limit either IAA synthesis or action or both. In a microsomal fraction from rice seedlings grown in the presence of either HCH or its isomers, the calmodulin-regulated Ca²⁺-ATPase activity was inhibited as follows: technical HCH = 46%, α isomer = 80%, β isomer = 72%, γ isomer = 65% and δ isomer = 62% of the control value, respectively. TLC analysis suggested that the various isomers of HCH are metabolised by the plant, except for the δ isotner, which accumulated. This isomer, along with the degraded products of other isomers, may be responsible for the phytotoxic action of HCH.     

Safety of temperature sensitive mutant Mycoplasma gallisepticum vaccine

A temperature sensitive (ts) vaccine strain designated ts-11 was selected after exposure of a low passage culture of the immunogenic Australian field isolate (strain 80083) of Mycoplasma gallisepticum to 100 mg/ml of N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Viable counts (assayed as colour changing units (CCU)/25 microliters) of a thawed stock culture of ts-11 were typically log10 3 to log10 5 higher when incubated at 33 degrees C (the permissive temperature) than duplicate viable counts incubated at 39.5 degrees C (the restrictive temperature). Doses of approximately 2 x 10(7) CCU of ts-11 caused no gross lesions or loss of egg production when inoculated into the air sacs of susceptible chickens and no clinical or pathological signs of sinusitis when inoculated into the infraorbital sinuses of susceptible turkey poults, whereas the parent strain 80083 was demonstrably pathogenic. However, 1 of 10 poults inoculated intra-abdominally with approximately 2 x 10(7) CCU of ts-11 did show signs of mild airsacculitis. Eight-week-old pullets were vaccinated by eye drop with up to 1.4 x 10(7) CCU of ts-11 and simultaneously subjected to several stressful management practices, without apparent ill effects. Administration by coarse aerosol of 5 ml of ts-11 vaccine/25 day-old broilers, with or without 25 doses of infectious bronchitis virus vaccine caused no obvious signs of respiratory disease. The non virulent ts phenotype was maintained after 3 passages of strain ts-11 in chickens. Chickens vaccinated 3 weeks previously with ts-11 or with strain 80083 were placed in contact with susceptible chickens for a period of 2 weeks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Induction of resistance against downy mildew pathogen in pearl millet by a synthetic jasmonate analogon

The synthetic 1-oxo-indanoyl-l-isoleucine methyl ester (Ind-Ile-Me) represents a highly active mimic of octadecanoic phytohormones, which are involved in plant defenses against pathogens and pests. Seed treatments and foliar spray with Ind-Ile-Me were tested for induced resistance against downy mildew disease caused by the phytopathogenic oomycete Sclerospora graminicola in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) under greenhouse and field conditions. Under greenhouse conditions, a 50% protection level was achieved after seed treatment. Seed treatment in combination with foliar spray resulted in 60% protection. The induction of resistance was correlated with the enhanced activities of defense-related proteins such as phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase, peroxidase, and enhanced level of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins. Under field conditions, a maximum protection of 62% was recorded upon seed treatment along with foliar spray. Hence, it infers that Ind-Ile-Me can be used as a valuable protection compound at least in downy mildew disease management.     

Lhx2 selector activity specifies cortical identity and suppresses hippocampal organizer fate

The earliest step in creating the cerebral cortex is the specification of neuroepithelium to a cortical fate. Using mouse genetic mosaics and timed inactivations, we demonstrated that Lhx2 acts as a classic selector gene and essential intrinsic determinant of cortical identity. Lhx2 selector activity is restricted to an early critical period when stem cells comprise the cortical neuroepithelium, where it acts cell-autonomously to specify cortical identity and suppress alternative fates in a spatially dependent manner. Laterally, Lhx2 null cells adopt antihem identity, whereas medially they become cortical hem cells, which can induce and organize ectopic hippocampal fields. In addition to providing functional evidence for Lhx2 selector activity, these findings show that the cortical hem is a hippocampal organizer.     

Immunogenicity of a temperature sensitive mutant Mycoplasma gaffisepticum vaccine

The immunogenicity of the ts-11 vaccine strain of Mycoplasma gallisepticum was assessed following eye drop or coarse aerosol administration in chickens of various ages. Protection was evalualted following intra-abdominal (IA) or fine droplet aerosol administration of virulent M. gallisepticum, usually the Ap3AS strain and was measured mainly by the scoring of gross air sac lesions or by egg production. Vaccination of chickens with ts-11 did not elicit a substantial serum antibody response as measured by rapid serum agglutination test, or ELISA. Protection was never demonstrated when no M. gallisepticum serum antibody response was detected in a vaccinated group of chickens. Failure to protect occurred usually, although not invariably, following aerosol administration of the vaccine. Vaccination by eye drop usually, although not invariably provided protection against challenge. In one experiment, chickens vaccinated by eye drop at 8-weeks were as susceptible as non vaccinated controls when challenged by IA inoculation at 13-weeks-of-age. Yet other birds from the same vaccinated group were resistant when challenged in an identical way at 23-weeks. No measurable increase in M. gallisepticum specific serum antibody concentrations occurred in the intervening period. Equally surprising was the response of another group of birds in the same experiment that had been vaccinated with a higher dose of ts-11. An antibody response was detected in this group, but they were susceptible to challenge at 23-weeks. Interestingly, a drop in egg production commenced 4 weeks after challenge, 2 weeks later than that observed in a non vaccinated group challenged at the same time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)