Specific identification, biology and symptoms of whitefly species infesting sunflower in South India

Whitefly species related to sunflower was identified as Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius). Further the identified whitefly species was confirmed to be indigenous B. tabaci on molecular basis by using B-biotype specific SCARs and biological silver leaf assay on sensitive pumpkin (cv Big variety). None of the whitefly samples could positive for the presence of B biotype. The results of the study on the pest life cycle under the laboratory conditions showed that, B. tabaci passed through four nymphal instars before the adult stage. The mean duration values of these stages were 5.6, 4.2, 4.4 and 5.6 days respectively. The total duration of the life cycle of B. tabaci ranged from 23- 42 days at the temperature of 29±2°C with a mean of 34.5. The damage to sunflower crop caused by the whitefly species is discussed with a special emphasis on its ability to transmit leaf curl viral disease

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Purification of bluetongue virus (BTV) group-specific VP7 protein, expressed in prokaryotic system as histidine-tagged fusion protein is described in the present study. The major antigenic portion of VP7 gene of BTV 23 was amplified from the extracted RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and cloned. The recombinant expression construct (pET-VP7) was identified by the polymerase chain reaction and sequencing analysis. Expression of histidine-tagged fusion truncated VP7 protein with a molecular mass of 36 kDa was determined by Western blot analysis using anti-His antibody. The expressed VP7 was purified to near homogeneity by chromatography on nickel-agarose column as judged by sodium dodesyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. The purified VP7 protein was recognized by antibody to BTV in Western blot analysis. The capability of the recombinant VP7 protein to differentiate hyperimmune serum of rabbit to BTV from normal rabbit serum was evident in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The purified VP7 reacted well with the 24 BTV serotype-specific sera obtained from OIE Reference Laboratory on bluetongue. Our results indicated that the expressed VP7 protein could be used as antigen for development of antibody-capture ELISA for detection BTV group-specific antibodies. This recombinant protein may also be used as antigen in competitive ELISA format

Ceruloplasmin Protects Against Rotenone-Induced Oxidative Stress and Neurotoxicity

To clarify the neuroprotective property of ceruloplasmin and the pathogenesis of aceruloplasminemia, we generated ceruloplasmin-deficient (CP−/−) mice on the C57BL/10 genetic background and further treated them with a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor, rotenone. There was no iron accumulation in the brains of CP−/− mice at least up to 60 weeks of age. Without rotenone treatment, CP−/− mice showed slight motor dysfunction compared with CP+/+ mice, but there were no detectable differences in the levels of oxidative stress markers between these two groups. A low dose of rotenone did not affect the mitochondrial complex I activity in our mice, however, it caused a significant change in motor behavior, neuropathology, or the levels of oxidative stress markers in CP−/− mice, but not in CP+/+ mice. Our data support that ceruloplasmin protects against rotenone-induced oxidative stress and neurotoxicity, probably through its antioxidant properties independently of its function of iron metabolism

Regulation of doctoral research in Universities : importance of INFdLIBNET online doctoral theses database

Describes INFLIBNET's initiative in Bibliographical Control of Doctoral Theses in Indian Universities through an online union database

Bibliographic control of Indian Ph. D Theses : INFLIBNET’s contribution

By imparting higher education, conducting research and interacting with individuals and institutions at different levels within and outside India, our universities have been major contributors to the generation and dissemination of knowledge. Being one of the significant contributions to the growth of knowledge, research work produced in the form of Ph.D. theses is the unique vital information sources. It is estimated that nearly 8000-10000 Ph.D. theses are produced every year by all the universities put together in India. Being a vital source of information, Ph. D theses have been attracting a great interest from academic and research communities in the country and abroad. INFLIBNET has therefore made an effort to collect, organise and make available this valuable information over the network. The Centre is also developing union bibliographic databases of Books, and Serials available in Indian Universities, and non-bibliographic databases of Indian Projects and Experts in various fields. All databases can be accessed through the website http://www.inflibnet.ac.in. This paper makes an attempt to give an overview of activities carried out by INFLIBNET Centre for the development of Theses Database and its online access. It discusses the purpose, objectives, benefits, and various steps in development, access points, and search methodology of this online database with illustrative examples, in detail. It also points out the drawbacks and future plans for making theses resources available in Indian Universities available on the Web

The Design and Analysis of Rudder Hinges of an Aircraft

On an aircraft, the Rudder is one of the important directional control surface along with the rudder-like elevator (attached to the vertical stabilizer) and ailerons (attached to the wings) that control pitch and roll, respectively. The rudder is usually attached to the fin (vertical stabilizer) through HINGES which allows the pilot to control yaw about the vertical axis, i.e. change horizontal direction. The components of hinge assembly are hinge Arms, Fork Head, Spar and Panel, hinge Arms are to be designed to take loads from rudder. One end of the hinge arms are attached to Spar (composite) and Panels (Top and Bottom Skin) through fasteners. Other end is connected to Fork head (metallic) through riveting. The scope of the present work is to detailed design of Rudder hinge assembly to meet strength and stability requirements and modelling done by using Unigraphics V10 software. The static stress analysis carried out to find the stresses like Von misses, Maximum Principal, shear stresses for both Metallic and composite materials and also Lug strength check, Linear static analysis, Normal mode analysis, and buckling analysis are covered in the justification of Hinge assembly for the rudder using finite element approach with help of MSC/PATRAN and MSC/NASTRAN software. From the analysis found that maximum von-Misses stress for the critical load is 347MPa is within the allowable yield strength of 350MPa of AL material. The maximum principal stress is 165MPa and is within the allowable ultimate strength of the material 470MPa. Maximum principal stresses for the composite materials (CFRP) are within the allowable limits. FEA of static and hand calculation results are compared and deviation is less than 2

Prospects of control and eradication of capripox from the Indian subcontinent: a perspective.

Sheeppox and goatpox, two endemic capripox infections in India, pose a significant economic threat to small ruminant productivity in the subcontinent. Vaccination of all susceptible sheep and goats is the feasible and sustainable means of control. Availability of effective live attenuated vaccines that are inherently thermostable and development of improved diagnostics provide the opportunities to initiate effective control measures for capripox. All animals older than 4 months can be vaccinated with the current homologous vaccines using a single vaccination by intradermal or subcutaneous routes. The success of the control program needs to be monitored by active surveillance particularly for the presence of virus, as sero-monitoring does not enable the differentiation of infection and vaccination. And also the sero-conversion following capripox vaccination is not detectable enough by the available tools. Sustained control efforts call for socio-economic and political stability, adequate infrastructure and logistic support to store and transport vaccines for reaching out vaccines to the remote end users. Availability of veterinary services, improved extension services for increased awareness among farmers, contribute significantly to the control campaigns. Poor vaccination coverage and in-adequate infrastructure in major parts of the country are some of the major elements that come in the way of effective implementation of building herd immunity through immunization