Do informally managed sacred groves have higher richness and regeneration of medicinal plants than state-managed reserve forests?

Sacred groves are ‘traditionally managed’ forest patches that functionally link social life and forest management system of a region. It is believed that one of the prime utilities of sacred groves is the protection and occasional supply of medicinal plants. We assessed the regeneration among sacred groves of the central Western Ghats, India, and compared it with the ‘state-managed reserve forests’. Overall, nearly 60% of the regenerating species were medicinally important. The density of regenerating medicinal plants among sacred groves was almost twice as that of reserve forests. There were a higher number of seedlings (Class-II), saplings (Class-III) and poles (Class-IV) of medicinally important plants in sacred groves than among reserve forests. Further, we found that nearly 40% of medicinally important species were unique to sacred groves; in contrast, only 11% was unique to reserve forests. However, nearly equal proportions (29 vs 27%) of ‘non-medicinal plants’ were unique to sacred groves and to reserve forests. These results suggest that informal management systems such as sacred groves have not only conserved useful species, but people have tended to ‘discover’ medicinal values more often among plants unique to sacred groves, than those found in other landscapes. Perhaps, this typifies one preliminary step in medicinal-plant domestication

Effect of bio-control agents and botanicals on in vitro growth and development of Ganoderma applanatum

Efficacy of bio-control agents and botanicals against Ganoderma applanatum, a fungi causing basal stem rot of coconut was studied at Agricultural Research Station, Arsikere during the year 2008-09. Among the 17 bio-control agents screened, native Trichoderma sp. (V2) recorded minimum radial growth of 1.72 cm by exerting 81 per cent reduction over control, which was followed by Trichoderma sp. (12a) by accounting 2.30 cm radial growth with 74 per cent reduction over control. Among the six bio-control agents, tested for biomass production, native Trichoderma sp. (B4) recorded maximum biomass (0.76 g) followed by Trichoderma sp. (C4) which accounted for 0.7 g 100 ml-1 potato dextrose broth. Among 10 botanicals tested, only Glyricidia was found to be inhibitory against G. applanatum, by recording radial growth of 5.4 cm as against 9.0 cm in control

Future Prospects for Periodontal Bioengineering Using Growth Factors

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142015/1/cap0088.pd

Liver transplantation is a preferable alternative to palliative therapy for selected patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) beyond the traditional criteria (advanced HCC) are typically offered palliation, which is associated with a 3-year survival rate lower than 30%. This study aimed to describe the outcomes for a subset of patients with advanced HCC who satisfied the Extended Toronto Criteria (ETC) and were listed for liver transplantation (LT). Materials & Methods: All patients listed in the Toronto liver transplant program with HCC beyond both the Milan and University of California, San Francisco criteria were included in this study. Data were extracted from the prospectively collected electronic database. All radiological images were reviewed by two independent radiologists. The primary endpoint was patient survival. Results: Between January 1999 and August 2014, 96 patients with advanced HCC were listed for LT, and 62 (65%) of these patients received bridging therapy while on the waiting list. Bridging therapy led to a significant reduction in tumor progression (p=0.02) and tumor burden (p <0.001). The majority of those listed underwent LT (n=69, 72%). Both tumor progression on waiting list (HR 4.973 [1.599 – 15.464], p=0.006) and peak AFP ≥400ng/ml (HR 4.604 [1.660 – 12.768], p=0.003) were independently associated with waiting list dropout. Post-LT HCC recurrence occurred in 35% (n=24). Among those with HCC recurrence, survival was significantly better for those who received curative treatment (p=0.004). The overall actuarial survival rates from the listing were 76% at 1 year, 56% at 3 years, and 47% at 5 years, and the corresponding rates from LT were 93%, 71%, and 66%. Conclusion: LT provides significantly better survival rates than palliation for patients with selected advanced HCC

Retardation of senescence by triazoles in excised mulberry leaf discs

The influence of triadimefon and uniconazole treatment on leaf senescence was examd. in the excised leaf disks of two mulberry plants namely, Morus cv. kajli and Morus multicaulis. The lower concns. of triadimefon (5 & 10 ppm) and uniconazole (1 and 5 ppm) were able to retard senescence for a considerable length of time in the leaf disks floated on test solns. This was accompanied by an increase in the chlorophyll content during the initial stage of the expt. and declined gradually during the later stage. However, at higher concns., though there was a significant increase in the chlorophyll content during the initial stages, the disks senescenced much early when compared to the control

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Not AvailableAn experiment was conducted to investigate the role of Antioxidant Enzymes (AOE) in Salicylic Acid (SA) induced salt-stress tolerance during chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seed germination at ICAR-Indian Institute of Seed Science, Mau during 2018. Results showed the differential germination performance of salt-sensitive (PG 186) and salt-tolerant (CSG 8962) chickpea cultivars under three levels (0, 75, 150 mM NaCl) of salt stresses. Salt stress adversely affected the seed germination and traits of early seedling establishment in PG 186 cultivar than in CSG 8962. Sand matrix priming (SMP) of seeds using SA @ 150 ppm improved the germination (up to 2 times) and other seed quality parameters in sensitive cultivar under higher (150 mM NaCl) salt-stress level. Further investigating the role of SA on modulating AOE, a negative influence of SA on major AOE (POX, CAT and GR) was observed in cotyledons of PG 186 genotype under high salt stress. However, the level of APX was observed to be constitutively higher in tolerant CSG 8962 chickpea genotype. The summary of results suggested that, SA alleviates oxidative stress through reducing major AOE in cotyledon to improve chickpea seed germination.Not Availabl

A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation of sacred groves in the Western Ghats of India

Although sacred groves are important for conservation in India, the landscape that surrounds them has a vital influence on biodiversity within them. Research has focused on tree diversity inside these forest patches. In a coffee-growing region of the Western Ghats, however, landscape outside sacred groves is also tree covered because planters have retained native trees to provide shade for coffee plants. We examined the diversity of trees, birds, and macrofungi at 58 sites—10 forest-reserve sites, 25 sacred groves, and 23 coffee plantations— in Kodagu district. We measured landscape composition and configuration around each site with a geographic information system. To identify factors associated with diversity we constructed multivariate models by using a decision-tree technique. The conventional measures of landscape fragmentation such as patch size did not influence species richness. Distance of sacred groves from the forest reserve had a weak influence. The measures of landscape structure (e.g., tree cover in the surroundings) and stand structure (e.g., variability in canopy height) contributed to the variation in species richness explained by multivariate models. We suggest that biodiversity present within sacred groves has been influenced by native tree cover in the surrounding landscape. To conserve this biodiversity the integrity of the tree-covered landscape matrix will need to be conserved

High Association of Posterior Malleolus Fractures with Spiral Distal Tibial Fractures

Associations between fracture patterns are important and can ensure proper diagnosis and guide treatment. Occult posterior malleolus fractures associated with distal spiral tibia fractures often are underrecognized and the morbidity of a missed posterior malleolus injury can be substantial. We determined the association between the two injuries and evaluated the ability of a new protocol to improve management of these associated fractures. Of 62 consecutive patients with fractures of the distal third of the tibia, we retrospectively evaluated the first 39 patients and prospectively used a diagnostic protocol including computed tomography of the ankle in the subsequent 23 patients. The minimum followup was 3 months (mean, 25 months; range, 3–68 months). Twenty-four patients (39%) had fractures of the posterior malleolus. Before initiation of the protocol, intraarticular fractures were recognized in 33% (with one delayed diagnosis and one missed diagnosis), and after institution of the protocol, the detection rate was 48% with no known missed injuries and complete followup; however, with the limited power the detection rates were similar without and with the protocol. A spiral distal tibial shaft fracture with a proximal fibula fracture should alert the surgeon to investigate an occult ankle injury, particularly of the posterior malleolus. A protocol including computed tomography of the ankle may detect more injuries in a larger study