Managing Sports State Anxiety with Yoga among Athletes – A Probe into Facts

The Purpose of the study was to find out, the intervened effect of yoga on State Anxiety among the peak performers of athletics. The subjects chosen for the study were 30 athletes of different genres from University of Madras, Chennai. Their age ranged between 20 and 25 years. They were randomly divided into two groups of 15 each, one being the experimental group and the other a control group. The experimental group underwent a scheduled yoga practice for a period of 8 weeks, 6 days/week as the control group was on daily regular routine. The status of State Anxiety was measured before (Pre-test) and after (Post-test) the experimental period using Manual of Statetrait Inventory developed by Spielberger (1970). The data were analyzed statistically for significant differences. Later applying analysis of variance and analysis of co-variance (in case of insignificance), significance in variance is shown, and further Scheffe?s test was applied. The result proves that the yogic scheduled practices have made a significant impact on the State Anxiety of the experimental group compared to the control group

Unraveling Genetic Diversity Through Molecular Insights: RAPD Profiling of Hybanthus enneaspermus (L.) F. Muell.

Hybanthus enneaspermus (L.) F. Muell, commonly known as the Indian Violets or Purple Balsam, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Violaceae. It is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. It holds cultural and medicinal importance in various traditional systems of medicine. Extracts from different parts of the plant have been traditionally employed to address ailments ranging from respiratory conditions to skin disorders. RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) analysis is a molecular biology technique used to generate fingerprint-like patterns of genomic DNA. In this study, we employ RAPD analysis to investigate the genetic diversity and relationships within species/Population/group of interest. Through the amplification of random genomic regions, we aim to generate informative banding patterns that will serve as molecular fingerprints for the individuals under investigation. This study clearly demonstrates the efficacy of this technique as a robust tool for molecular characterization, underscoring its relevance in contemporary genetic research

REVIEW ON MEDICINAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF IRESINE HERBSTII, CHROZOPHORA ROTTLERI AND ECBOLIUM LINNEANUM

India has a rich tradition of plant-based knowledge on healthcare. A large number of plants/plant extracts/decoctions or pastes are equally used by tribals and folklore traditions in India for treatment of cuts, wounds and burns. The resistance of the microorganism has increased due to the indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs commonly used for the treatment of infectious diseases. Resistance to antimicrobial agents has resulted in morbidity, mortality, from treatment failures and increased health care costs. There is an urgent need to discover novel, effective plant-based antimicrobial drug to the increasing problem of drug resistance. This situation forced the scientist to search for new antimicrobial substances from various sources including medicinal plants. Iresine herbstii, Ecbolium linneanum , Chrozophora rottleri have been used in folk remedies and is reported to have a broad range of therapeutic effects. Therefore this paper attempts to bridge the lacunae in the existing literature and offers immense scope for researchers engaged in validation of the traditional claims and development of safe and effective therapeutic agent

Performance of the tsunami forecast system for the Indian Ocean

The Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS) at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad, is responsible for issuing tsunami bulletins in India. The tsunami centre oper- ates on a 24×7 basis and monitors seismological sta- tions, bottom pressure recorders and tidal stations throughout the Indian Ocean to evaluate potentially tsunamigenic earthquakes and disseminating tsunami bulletins. The end-to-end capabilities of this warning system have been well proven during all the tsunami- genic earthquakes that occurred since September 2007. Comparison of the earthquake parameters estimated by ITEWS with other international seismological agencies suggests that the system is performing well and has achieved the target set up by the Inter- governmental Oceanographic Commission

Study of Spatial Water Requirement of Rice under Various Crop Establishment Methods Using GIS and Crop Models

Application of crop simulation models at larger spatial scales is very essential to develop best management practices in order to maximize yields and reduce environmental pollution. In the present study, spatial analysis of long- term simulations were carried out with DSSAT spatial analysis tool linked with GIS to estimate irrigation requirements and nitrate leaching under alternate rice establishment methods in the Wargal watershed, Andhra Pradesh, India. Rice yields were compared among three management scenarios: rainfed, aerobic and flooded systems. Grain yield, seasonal water balance components, nitrate leaching and water use efficiency were calculated, visualized and mapped with GIS. The rice productivity increased by 22% and 27% under aerobic and flooded management compared to rainfed rice. The adoption of new water efficient aerobic rice cultivation in the watershed resulted in 36% water saving with a relatively small yield reduction of 4%, thus increasing the water productivity to 0.77 g kg-1 in aerobic compared to 0.56 g kg-1 in flooded rice. The aerobic rice method reduced the overall water pumping hours to 88 h ha-1 during rice crop season compared to 299 h ha-1 with flooded rice cultivation, resulting in 71% energy savings

Prime-Boost Vaccination With Covaxin/BBV152 Induces Heightened Systemic Cytokine and Chemokine Responses

Covaxin/BBV152 is a whole virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. The effect of prime-boost vaccination with Covaxin on systemic immune responses is not known. We investigated the effect of Covaxin on the plasma levels of a wide panel of cytokines and chemokines at baseline (M0) and at months 1 (M1), 2 (M2) and 3 (M3) following prime-boost vaccination in healthy volunteers. Our results demonstrate that Covaxin induces enhanced plasma levels of Type 1 cytokines (IFNγ, IL-2, TNFα), Type 2/regulatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and IL-13), Type 17 cytokine (IL-17A), other pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-12, IL-1α, IL-1β) and other cytokines (IL-3 and IL-7) but diminished plasma levels of IL-25, IL-33, GM-CSF and Type 1 IFNs. Covaxin also induced enhanced plasma levels of CC chemokine (CCL4) and CXC chemokines (CXCL1, CXCL2 and CX3CL1) but diminished levels of CXCL10. Covaxin vaccination induces enhanced cytokine and chemokine responses as early as month 1, following prime-boost vaccination, indicating robust activation of innate and adaptive immune responses in vaccine recipients

Antibody responses to the BBV152 vaccine in individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2: A pilot study

Background & objectives: Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 is a recommendation from the World Health Organization as the foremost preference in the current situation to control the COVID-19 pandemic. BBV152 is one of the approved vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in India. In this study, we determined SARS-CoV-2–specific antibody levels at day 0 (baseline, before vaccination), day 28 ± 2 post-first dose (month 1) and day 56 ± 2 post-first dose (month 2) of BBV152 whole-virion–inactivated SARS-CoV-2 recipients, and compared the antibody responses of individuals with confirmed pre-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection to those individuals without prior evidence of infection. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 114 healthcare professionals and frontline workers who received BBV152 vaccine from February to May & June 2021. Prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was determined at baseline. Serum samples were used to estimate SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein-specific IgG [IgG (N)], spike protein-specific IgG [IgG (S)] and neutralizing antibodies (NAb). Results: Participants with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection after a single vaccine dose elicited IgG (N) and IgG (S) antibody levels along with NAb binding inhibition responses levels were similar to infection-naïve vaccinated participants who had taken two doses of vaccine. Interpretation & conclusions: Our preliminary data suggested that a single dose of BBV152-induced humoral immunity in previously infected individuals was equivalent to two doses of the vaccine in infection-naïve individuals. However, these findings need to be confirmed with large sized cohort studies

Inactivated COVID-19 vaccines: durability of Covaxin/BBV152 induced immunity against variants of concern

BACKGROUND: Covaxin/BBV152 is one of the most widely used vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and one of the few vaccines used extensively in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). METHODS: We investigated the effect of Covaxin on the SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and IgA and neutralizing antibody (NAb) levels at baseline (M0) and at Months 1 (M1), 2 (M2), 3 (M3), 4 (M4), 6 (M6) and 12 (M12) following vaccination in healthcare workers. In addition, we also examined the NAb levels against variant lineages of B.1.617.2 (Delta, India), B.1.617.2.1 (Delta Plus, India), B.1.351 (Beta, SA), B.1.1.7 (Alpha, UK) and B.1.1.529 (Omicron). RESULTS: Covaxin induces enhanced SARS-CoV-2 binding antibodies of IgG and IgA responses against both spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antigens at M1, M2, M3, M4, M6 and M12 in comparison with M0. Our data also reveal that NAb levels against the ancestral strain (Wuhan, wild type) are elevated and sustained at M1, M2, M3, M4, M6 and M12 in comparison with M0 and against variant lineages of B.1.617.2 (Delta, India), B.1.617.2.1 (Delta Plus, India), B.1.351 (Beta, SA) and B.1.1.7 (Alpha, UK) are elevated at M3, M6 and M12 in comparison with M0. However, NAb levels against B.1.1.529 (Omicron) was consistently below the limit of detection except at M12. CONCLUSION: Thus, Covaxin induces an enhanced humoral immune response, with persistence till at least 12 months post-vaccination against most SARS-CoV-2 variants