First evidences for induced pseudo-viviparous germination in Ageratina adenophora (Crofton weed), a common alien weed of Darjeeling Himalaya, India

In the present investigation, an autecological study has been carried out for Ageratina adenophora (Spreng.) R.M. King & H. Rob., a common aggressive alien weed found in dense patches at different localities of Darjeeling Himalaya, West Bengal, India. Single generation colony, derived via induced pseudo-viviparous germination, outnumbers the associated species by its aggressiveness and allelopathic potentiality. The cypselae (fruits) mature during full monsoon and being laden with water droplets shed their deciduous calyx (pappus). The later thus cannot disperse away from the head (capitulum) by effective parachute mechanism. Very frequently, many of the cypselae get germinated with two minute paracotyledons on the receptacle that still attached with the mother plant by decaying receptacle stalk. Entire head with cluster of seedlings, becoming heavy by monsoon shower, drops down on the lower wet substratum. It is the beginning of the colony formation. Vigorous growth and allelopathic potentiality of the species decreases the establishment, growth and density of other plant species in that area facilitating procurement of more space and nutrients for the individuals by itself, leading to make a dense colony with very high Importance Value Index (IVI). All these features may be considered as an adaptation to maintain its invasiveness and dominance over the surrounding species

Molecular markers assisted DNA polymorphism: Implications in mangrove research

Mangroves are defined as woody, evergreen group of plant community; grow on the swampy substrate at tropical and sub-tropical habitatsadjusted to high salinity, periodical tidal influence, strong winds, high temperatures, high precipitation and anaerobic soils. They possessunique morphological and physiological adaptive features to cope with these extreme conditions. Mangrove vegetation is the cradle of several marine fauna and provides first line of defense against devastating sea surges, typhoon, tsunami, etc. However, since industrial era, many of the mangrove members were affected by several environmental constrains and anthropogenic activities that raised the sea level, lowered sweet water influx from the adjacent rivers and encroachment for the new settlement formation, increasing salinity. Hence, mangrove restoration program is the front line topic of interest to the plant biologists across the tropical and subtropical world since it has a productive and protective role for the inhabitants. Sound knowledge of molecular characteristic of the individual taxa will be provide an advantage for this initiative.Recent advancement in molecular markers based on the PCR technique techniqueswill enhance the knowledge about genetic background of each individual taxon, ultimately leading to valid guided references towards the understanding the inherent nature of the plant itself and beneficial to proper restoration program

Extrapolative microRNA precursor based SSR mining from tea EST database in respect to agronomic traits

Abstract Tea (Camellia sinensis, (L.) Kuntze) is considered as most popular drink across the world and it is widely consumed beverage for its several health-benefit characteristics. These positive traits primarily rely on its regulatory networks of different metabolic pathways. Development of microsatellite markers from the conserved genomic regions are being worthwhile for reviewing the genetic diversity of closely related species or self-pollinated species. Although several SSR markers have been reported, in tea, the trait-specific Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers, leading to be useful in marker assisted breeding technique, are yet to be identified. Micro RNAs are short, non-coding RNA molecules, involved in post transcriptional mode of gene regulation and thus effects on related phenotype. Present study deals with identification of the microsatellite motifs within the reported and predicted miRNA precursors that are effectively followed by designing of primers from SSR flanking regions in order to PCR validation. In addition to the earlier reports, two new miRNAs are predicting here from tea expressed tag sequence database. Furthermore, 18 SSR motifs are found to be in 13 of all 33 predicted miRNAs. Trinucleotide motifs are most abundant among all followed by dinucleotides. Since, miRNA based SSR markers are evidenced to have significant role on genetic fingerprinting study, these outcomes would pave the way in developing novel markers for tagging tea specific agronomic traits as well as substantiating non-conventional breeding program

Hysteresis in superconducting short weak links and μ\mu-SQUIDs

11 pages, 12 figuresInternational audienceThermal hysteresis in a micron-size Superconducting Quantum Interference Device ($\mu$-SQUID), with weak links as Josephson junctions, is an obstacle for improving its performance for magnetometery. Following the "hot-spot" model of Skocpol et al. [J. Appl. Phys. {\bf 45}, 4054 (1974)] and by incorporating the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity of superconductor using a linear approximation, we find a much better agreement with the observed temperature dependence of the retrapping current in short superconducting Nb-based weak links and $\mu$-SQUIDs. In addition, using the temperature dependence of the critical current, we find that above a certain temperature hysteresis disappears. We analyze the current-voltage characteristics and the weak link temperature variation in both the hysteretic and non-hysteretic regimes. We also discuss the effect of the weak link geometry in order to widen the temperature range of hysteresis-free operation

Intravenous paracetamol infusion: Superior pain management and earlier discharge from hospital in patients undergoing palliative head-neck cancer surgery

Background: Paracetamol; a cyclooxygenase inhibitor; acts through the central nervous system as well as serotoninergic system as a nonopioid analgesic. A prospective, double-blinded, and randomized-controlled study was carried out to compare the efficacy of preoperative 1g intravenous (iv) paracetamol with placebo in providing postoperative analgesia in head-neck cancer surgery. Materials and Methods: From 2008 February to 2009 December, 80 patients for palliative head-neck cancer surgery were randomly divided into (F) and (P) Group receiving ivplacebo and iv paracetamol, respectively, 5 min before induction. Everybody received fentanyl before induction and IM diclofenac for pain relief at8 hourly for 24 h after surgery. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and amount of fentanyl were measured for postoperative pain assessment (24 h). Results and Statistical analysis: The mean VAS score in 1 st , 2 nd postoperative hour, and fentanyl requirement was less and the need for rescue analgesic was delayed in ivparacetamol group which were all statistically significant. Paracetamol group had a shorter surgical intensive care unit (SICU) and hospital stay which was also statistically significant. Conclusion: The study demonstrates the effectiveness of ivparacetamol as preemptive analgesic in the postoperative pain control after head-neck cancer surgery and earlier discharge from hospital

Role of Imunomet in upper respiratory tract disorders: A randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial

281-283Upper respiratory tract disorders comprise 87.5% of total acute respiratory morbidity in children in India. This has become a major community health problem. The symptoms are often self limiting and many a time caused by viruses, however, recurrent attacks may lead to distinct morbidity. This study was conducted in hospital outpatient department on children who have been attending at frequent interval with complaints of sore throat, pharyngitis, tonsillitis. They were administered Imunomet syrup or tablet for a period of 8 weeks. At the end of the treatment, about 84% patients responded well to treatment and 16% patients had fair response to treatment. None of the patients showed any adverse reaction to treatment. The syrup was found to be palatable

Global transcriptome analysis reveals fungal disease responsive core gene regulatory landscape in tea

Abstract Fungal infections are the inevitable limiting factor for productivity of tea. Transcriptome reprogramming recruits multiple regulatory pathways during pathogen infection. A comprehensive meta-analysis was performed utilizing previously reported, well-replicated transcriptomic datasets from seven fungal diseases of tea. The study identified a cumulative set of 18,517 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in tea, implicated in several functional clusters, including the MAPK signaling pathway, transcriptional regulation, and the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids. Gene set enrichment analyses under each pathogen stress elucidated that DEGs were involved in ethylene metabolism, secondary metabolism, receptor kinase activity, and various reactive oxygen species detoxification enzyme activities. Expressional fold change of combined datasets highlighting 2258 meta-DEGs shared a common transcriptomic response upon fungal stress in tea. Pervasive duplication events caused biotic stress-responsive core DEGs to appear in multiple copies throughout the tea genome. The co-expression network of meta-DEGs in multiple modules demonstrated the coordination of appropriate pathways, most of which involved cell wall organization. The functional coordination was controlled by a number of hub genes and miRNAs, leading to pathogenic resistance or susceptibility. This first-of-its-kind meta-analysis of host–pathogen interaction generated consensus candidate loci as molecular signatures, which can be associated with future resistance breeding programs in tea

Adjunct therapy of Ayurvedic medicine with anti tubercular drugs on the therapeutic management of pulmonary tuberculosis

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is an age old disease described in Vedic Medicine as ′Yakshma′. Later on, in Ayurveda it earned a prefix and found way into mythology as ′Rajayakshma′. After the discovery of streptomycin, the therapeutic management of PTB received a major breakthrough. The treatment module changed remarkably with the formulation of newer anti-tubercular drugs (ATD) with appreciable success. Recent resurgence of PTB in developed countries like United States posed a threat to the medical community due to resistant strains. Consequently, WHO looked toward traditional medicine. Literature reveals that Ayurvedic treatment of PTB was in vogue in India before the introduction of ATD with limited success. Records show that 2766 patients of PTB were treated with Ayurvedic drugs in a tertiary care hospital in Kolkata in the year 1933-1947. Objectives: To evaluate the toxicity reduction and early restoration by adjunct therapy of Ayurvedic drugs by increasing the bio-availability of ATDs. Materials and Methods: In the present study, treatment response of 99 patients treated with ATD as an adjunct with Aswagandha (Withania somnifera) and a multi-herbal formulation described in Chikitsa-sthana of Charaka samhita i.e. Chyawanprash were investigated. Hematological profile, sputum bacterial load count, immunoglobulin IgA and IgM, blood sugar, liver function test, serum creatinine were the assessed parameters besides blood isoniazid and pyrazinamide, repeated after 28 days of treatment. Results: The symptoms abated, body weight showed improvement, ESR values were normal, there was appreciable change in IgA and IgM patterns and significantly increased bioavailability of isoniazid and pyrazinamide were recorded. Conclusion: This innovative clinical study coupled with empowered research may turn out to be promising in finding a solution for the treatment of PTB