Influence of egg parasitic fungus, Engyodontium aranearum against root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita

The indigenous egg parasitic fungal isolates, Engyodontium aranearum was evaluated for its nematicidal potential against root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. The study revealed 53.75 per cent egg parasitization by the fungal isolate. Fungal colonies grew over the eggs and fungal hyphae penetrated the egg shells resulting in rupturing of egg shell layers, enzymatic digestion and empty eggs. The fungal culture filtrate was found to inhibit egg hatching by 83.42 per cent and caused upto 91.36 per cent juvenile mortality. This isolate also reduced the attraction of infective juveniles towards tomato root by 79.29 per cent. It seems to be a first report on the antinemic property of the fungus E. aranearum against root knot nematode, M. incognita and its effect was found comparable with Paecilomyces lilacinus which is known as an efficient nematode egg parasitic fungus

Effectiveness of deep breathing and walking exercise in reducing menopausal symptoms among women at Karadivavi, India

Background: Menopause has been defined as the point in time of the last menstrual bleeding in a women’s life. Menopausal symptoms affect about 70% of women. The objectives of the study were assessment of the women for menopausal symptoms, assessment of the effectiveness of exercises in reducing menopausal symptoms and associate the demographic variables with menopausal symptoms.Methods: One group pre test and post test design was adopted for the study. Allowable error method was adopted to select the desired sample. The sample size was 30. Demographic profile and menopausal symptoms information were collected. Menopausal symptoms were assessed by Menopausal rating scale. The data collected were analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics method. Paired ‘t’ test was used to compare the pretest and posttest level of menopausal symptoms.Results: Majority of the women (80%) had moderate menopausal symptoms before practice of deep breathing and walking exercise. After practicing exercises only four women had mild menopausal symptoms and 70% of the women relieved from joint pain. Association was found between age at first conception, number of conception, medical problems with pretest menopausal symptoms score.Conclusions: This study review shows that Deep breathing and walking exercise was helpful in reduction of menopausal symptoms among menopausal women. This result can be potentially employed as one of the complementary therapy in the reduction of menopausal symptoms.

SilkSatDb: a microsatellite database of the silkworm, Bombyx mori

The SilkSatDb (silkmoth microsatellite database) (http://www.cdfd.org.in/silksatdb) is a relational database of microsatellites extracted from the available expressed sequence tags and whole genome shotgun sequences of the silkmoth, Bombyx mori. The database has been rendered with a simple and robust web-based search facility, developed using PHP. The SilkSatDb also stores information on primers developed and validated in the laboratory. Users can retrieve information on the microsatellite and the protocols used, along with informative figures and polymorphism status of those microsatellites. In addition, the interface is coupled with Autoprimer, a primer-designing program, using which users can design primers for the loci of interest

Immune indices and identical functions of two prophenoloxidases from the haemolymph of green tiger shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus and its antibiofilm activity

In the present study, we purified two prophenoloxidases (proPO) from haemolymph of green tigershrimp,Penaeus semisulcatusby gel fermentation chromatography using blue Sepharose matrix. The twopurified prophenoloxidase macromolecules are of about 76 and 75 kDa determined through SDS-PAGEand named asPenaeus semisulcatusprophenoloxidase I (PSproPO I) andPenaeus semisulcatusproph-enoloxidase II (PSproPO II). It was further characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier TransformInfrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Circular Dichroism (CD) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography(HPLC) analysis. The purified PSproPO I and PSproPO II showed the strongest agglutination titre againsthuman erythrocytes compared to goat RBC. The PSproPO I and PSproPO II showed phagocytic activityagainst yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeand encapsulation activity against Sepharose CL 6B beadscompared to CM Sepharose and Sodium alginate beads. The functional analysis of purified PSproPO I andPSproPO II showed enhanced PO activity when added with the triggering molecules such as pathogenassociated molecular patterns (PAMPs), metals and chemicals. In addition, eluted fraction containingPSproPO I and PSproPO II showed antibiofilm activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.The above results concluded that no significant differences were found between the purified PSproPO Iand PSproPO II immune indices and functions. This study might provide a sensitive platform to under-stand more about the critical roles of PSproPO I and PSproPO II in crustacean immune syste

Electrodeposition and Capacitive Behavior of Films for Electrodes of Electrochemical Supercapacitors

Polypyrrole films were deposited by anodic electropolymerization on stainless steel substrates from aqueous pyrrole solutions containing sodium salicylate and tiron additives. The deposition yield was studied under galvanostatic conditions. The amount of the deposited material was varied by the variation of deposition time at a constant current density. SEM studies showed the formation of porous films with thicknesses in the range of 0–3 μm. Cyclic voltammetry data for the films tested in 0.5 M Na2SO4 solutions showed capacitive behavior and high specific capacitance (SC) in a voltage window of 0.9 V. The films prepared from pyrrole solutions containing tiron showed better capacitive behavior compared to the films prepared from the solutions containing sodium salicylate. A highest SC of 254 F g−1 was observed for the sample with a specific mass of 89 μg cm−2 at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1. The SC decreased with an increasing film thickness and scan rate. The results indicated that the polypyrrole films deposited on the stainless steel substrates by anodic electropolymerization can be used as electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitors (ES)

Effectiveness of deep breathing and walking exercise in reducing menopausal symptoms among women at Karadivavi, India

Background: Menopause has been defined as the point in time of the last menstrual bleeding in a women’s life. Menopausal symptoms affect about 70% of women. The objectives of the study were assessment of the women for menopausal symptoms, assessment of the effectiveness of exercises in reducing menopausal symptoms and associate the demographic variables with menopausal symptoms.Methods: One group pre test and post test design was adopted for the study. Allowable error method was adopted to select the desired sample. The sample size was 30. Demographic profile and menopausal symptoms information were collected. Menopausal symptoms were assessed by Menopausal rating scale. The data collected were analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics method. Paired ‘t’ test was used to compare the pretest and posttest level of menopausal symptoms.Results: Majority of the women (80%) had moderate menopausal symptoms before practice of deep breathing and walking exercise. After practicing exercises only four women had mild menopausal symptoms and 70% of the women relieved from joint pain. Association was found between age at first conception, number of conception, medical problems with pretest menopausal symptoms score.Conclusions: This study review shows that Deep breathing and walking exercise was helpful in reduction of menopausal symptoms among menopausal women. This result can be potentially employed as one of the complementary therapy in the reduction of menopausal symptoms.