Present status, scope and future needs for mechanization of apple cultivation in mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India

A study was conducted to find out the present status and level of mechanization in different operations as carried out in apple cultivation. It was observed that most of these operations are performed manually by hand using traditional tools. Land preparation with spade (0.002 ha/h), pit digging with spade (3 to 4 pits/day of size 1x1x1 m), basin preparation with spade (2-4 basin/h), pruning by secateurs/pruner (1-2 plants/h) and harvesting by hand (12-15 kg h-1person-1) resulted in very low efficiency thus increase the cost of operation and drudgery and ultimately reduces the net returns to the growers. The bottlenecks in mechanization are due to undulating topography, small and scattered land holdings, lack of approach roads and lack of awareness among the farmers. In spite of these, there is a tremendous scope to mechanize various practices in apple cultivation in hills of Himachal Pradesh through improved and suitable mechanization technology so that the apple growers may be benefited

Performance evaluation of furrow openers for sugarcane planting in sub-tropical India

The research was conducted to evaluate the effects of different types of furrow opener, depth and speed of operation on soil properties, draft force, soil disturbance and germination percentage and to select the best furrow openers for establishment of sugarcane crop. The experiment was conducted on a silt loam textured soil using three furrow openers viz. IISR furrower, IISR deep furrower and conventional type ridger operated at three average speeds of 0.96, 1.46 and 3.7 km h-1 and three depths of furrows 100, 150 and 250 mm. The parameters like draft force, soil penetration resistance, ridge height, volume of soil disturbed and germination percentage were determined. Soil penetration resistance decreased with increasing operational speeds of each furrow openers type and depth of furrow. Soil disturbance characteristics and draft force requirements increased with increase in the speeds and depth of operation. The mean germination percentage was 12.9% to 41.6% at 30 and 45 DAP based on type of furrow opener, speed and depth. The lowest soil penetration resistance, clear furrow and better germination were found with IISR deep furrower.

COMPARATIVE MUCOPENETRATION ABILITY OF METRONIDAZOLE LOADED CHITOSAN AND PEGYLATED CHITOSAN NANOPARTICLES

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the mucopenetration ability of metronidazole loaded chitosan (CS) and pegylated CS nanoparticles.Methods: Nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation technique using negatively charged pH sensitive polymer, hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose phthalate with positively charged CS and methoxy polyethylene glycol-grafted-CS (mPEG-g-CS). mPEG-g-CS was synthesized by formaldehyde linkage method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The optimized formulations were compared for morphology, particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), entrapment efficiency, bioadhesion detachment force, in vitro and in vivo mucopenetration for CS-mPEG-g-CS nanoparticles.Results: The morphological assessment revealed smooth spherical particles with uniform dispersions. The optimized formulations particle size was found to be 202.7±27 nm and 294.1±46 nm, zeta potential 26.94±2.4 mV and 6.0±1.3 mV. PDI 0.231 and 0.268, entrapment efficiency 79.8±5.4% and 83.6±9.7%, bio-adhesion detachment force 14.98*103 dyne/cm2 and 10.67*103 dynes/cm2, in vitro mucopenetration 78% and 98% for CS-mPEG-g-CS, respectively. The qualitative in vivo mucopenetration result confirms retention of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled mPEG-g-CS nanoparticles till 24 hrs.Conclusion: Nanoparticles with lesser zeta potential and mucoadhesion showed higher mucosal penetration which is evident from FITC labeled histopathological mucus penetration test. Studies thus provided evidence that planned pharmaceutical strategies open new vistas for effective treatment of mucosal infections

Development and performance evaluation of manual/bullock operated multicrop planter for hilly region

In hills, sowing of various crops is generally performed manually by broadcasting of seeds, and that not only consume higher seed rate but also cause uneven distribution of seed at improper depth and moisture, poor germination, unhealthy plants and ultimately lower the yield.  To overcome these problems, a single row manual/bullock multicrop planter was designed and developed for line sowing of wheat, maize, soybean, lentil, pea, mustard, millet etc. for hilly small fields.  The power and pull requirements were 74.6 W and 12 kgf, respectively.  The machine has a nylon made cell type seed metering mechanism with 4 types of cells of different sizes on a roller, and also has a fluted roller for fertilizer metering.  Shovel type and Inverted T-type furrow openers can be used as the need.  Two persons are required to operate the machine manually by one using handle and one with bullocks.  The effective field capacity was observed 0.0378, 0.05, 0.058 and  0.056 hah-1 in wheat, lentil, mustard and pea, respectively.  The cost of operation was observed 42% less in multicrop planter with 21%-33% increase in yield as compared to traditional broadcasting method

Operator physiological response and bullock draughtability during primary tillage

A study on draughtability of small sized bullocks (Pair weight of 430 kg) of Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand, India for operating primary tillage by a newly developed VL Syahi hal (plough) was conducted at ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora in five different locations of Almora and Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand in the winter season, 2012 (November and December month). The physiological responses like pulse and respiration rate in ploughing with VL Syahi hal have increased with duration at the rate of sharp increase in the first hour followed by slow increase thereafter. The pulse and respiration rate increased by 27% and 14% respectively from its initial value after 1st hour of work. The average draft requirement of VL Syahi hal was observed to be within draughtability of the small bullocks. The bullocks could sustain the ploughing load (11.86% of their body weight) for two hours of continuous working during winter period. The average field capacity was 0.023 ha/h (43 h/ha) compared to 0.0136 ha/h (73 h/ha) with traditional plough. Considering draught, fatigue score, field capacity and soil pulverization, VL Syahi hal of 180 mm width was found to be suitable for small size bullocks of Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand

A rare case of leiomyosarcoma of cervix and challenges in its management: a case report and brief review of literature

Leiomyosarcoma of cervix is an aggressive and rare tumour of the cervix with poor prognosis. Management plan differs greatly from other common cervical malignancies. A 38 year old multiparous lady presented with a large circumferential cervical tumour which was diagnosed as leiomyosarcoma of cervix on cervical biopsy. It was a surgical challenge. Patient underwent pre-operative ureteric stenting followed by exploratory laparotomy with hysterectomy with bilateral salphingo-oophorectomy. Surgical difficulties were encountered due to deep impaction of tumour in pelvis and altered anatomy due to the bulk of tumour. Retrograde approach was taken and pouch of Douglas was opened before clamping the mackenrodts and the uterus was bisected and debulking of tumour done simultaneously to facilitate the surgery. Post operatively patient received chemotherapy (Vincristine, adriamycin andcyclophosphamide) followed by radiotherapy. Patient developed vesicovaginal fistula and liver metastasis nine months post- surgery. She received second line of chemotherapy (gemcitabine and docetaxel) after which she was lost to follow up.

Simultaneous Use of Cannulated Reamer and Schanz Screw for Closed Intramedullary Femoral Nailing

Introduction. Closed reduction is a critical component of the intramedullary nailing and at times can be difficult and technically challenging resulting in increased operative time. Fluoroscopy is used extensively to achieve closed reduction which increases the intra-operative radiation exposure. Materials and Methods. Sixty patients with femoral diaphyseal fractures treated by locked intramedullary nailing were randomized in two groups. In group I, fracture reduction was performed under fluoroscopy with a cannulated reamer in the proximal fragment or with simultaneous use of a cannulated reamer in the proximal fragment and a Schanz screw in the distal fragment. Patients in group II had fracture reduction under fluoroscopy alone. Results. Closed reduction was achieved in 29 patients in group I and 25 patients in group II. The guide wire insertion time, time for nail insertion and its distal locking, total operative time, and total fluoroscopic time were 26.57, 27.93, 68.03, and 0.19 minutes in group I, compared with 30.87, 27.83, 69.93, and 0.24 minutes in group II, respectively. The average number of images taken to achieve guide wire insertion, for nail insertion and its locking and for the complete procedure in group I, respectively, was 12.33, 25.27, and 37.6 compared with 22.1, 26.17, and 48.27, respectively, in group II. Conclusion. The use of cannulated reamer in proximal fragment as intramedullary joystick and Schanz screw and in the distal fragment as percutaneous joystick facilitates closed reduction of the fracture during closed intramedullary femoral nailing with statistically significant reduction in guide wire insertion time and radiation exposure

Immunoprophylaxis against AIDS in macaques with a lentiviral DNA vaccine

AbstractWe earlier reported that immunization of macaques with a reverse transcriptase-deleted SHIVKU2 (ΔrtSHIVKU2) plasmid that contained HIV-1(HXB2) env and SIV gag–nef induced protection against AIDS caused by challenge virus SHIV89.6P with a heterologous env. We further deleted vif and integrase from ΔrtSHIVKU2 and substituted the 3′LTR with SV40 poly A sequences, creating Δ4SHIVKU2 (M) and a parallel construct containing gag–nef of HIV-1SF2, Δ4SHIVKU2 (H). Six macaques received two intramuscular injections of the (M) DNA, and another six received three injections of the (H) DNA. Three of the latter group received two post-challenge boosts with (M) DNA vaccine. Seven virus control macaques were inoculated with SHIV89.6P. All twelve immunized macaques were challenged with SHIV89.6P virus, and CMI responses were measured by ELISPOT assays.Virus control animals all developed progressive infection, whereas vaccinated macaques from both groups controlled virus replication, with plasma viral loads dropping to undetectable levels between weeks 6 and 126 p.i. This DNA vaccine was efficacious even though it encoded Env, Gag, and Nef that were genetically distinct from the proteins in the challenge virus. The DNA vaccine induced broad-based protection without using viral proteins to boost the immunity

Frontal traumatic brain injury in rats causes long-lasting impairments in impulse control that are differentially sensitive to pharmacotherapeutics and associated with chronic neuroinflammation.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions yearly, and is increasingly associated with chronic neuropsychiatric symptoms. We assessed the long-term effects of different bilateral frontal controlled cortical impact injury severities (mild, moderate, severe) on the five-choice serial reaction time task, a paradigm with relatively independent measurements of attention, motor impulsivity and motivation. Moderately- and severely-injured animals exhibited impairments across all cognitive domains that were still evident 14 weeks post-injury, while mild-injured animals only demonstrated persistent deficits in impulse control. However, recovery of function varied considerably between subjects such that some showed no impairment (“TBI-resilient”), some demonstrated initial deficits that recovered (“TBI-vulnerable”) and some never recovered (“chronically-impaired”). Three clinically-relevant treatments for impulsecontrol or TBI, amphetamine, atomoxetine, and amantadine, were assessed for efficacy in treating injury-induced deficits. Susceptibility to TBI affected the response to pharmacological challenge with amphetamine. Whereas sham and TBI-resilient animals showed characteristic impairments in impulse control at higher doses, amphetamine had the opposite effect in chronically-impaired rats, improving task performance. In contrast, atomoxetine and amantadine reduced premature responding but increased omissions, suggesting psychomotor slowing. Analysis of brain tissue revealed that generalized neuroinflammation was associated with impulsivity even when accounting for the degree of brain damage. This is one of the first studies to characterize psychiatric-like symptoms in experimental TBI. Our data highlight the importance of testing pharmacotherapies in TBI models in order to predict efficacy, and suggest that neuroinflammation may represent a treatment target for impulse control problems following injury

IL-17A Contributes to the Pathogenesis of Endometriosis by Triggering Proinflammatory Cytokines and Angiogenic Growth Factors

Endometriosis is a chronic, inflammatory disease characterized by the growth of endometrial tissue in aberrant locations outside the uterus. Neo-angiogenesis or establishment of new blood supply is one of the fundamental requirements of endometriotic lesion survival in the peritoneal cavity. IL-17A is emerging as a potent angiogenic and pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in the pathophysiology of several chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. However, sparse information is available in the context of endometriosis. In this study, we demonstrate the potential importance of IL-17A in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of endometriosis. The data show a differential expression of IL-17A in human ectopic endometriotic lesions and matched eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis. Importantly, surgical removal of lesions resulted in significantly reduced plasma IL-17A concentrations. Immunohistochemistry revealed localization of IL-17A primarily in the stroma of matched ectopic and eutopic tissue samples. In vitro stimulation of endometrial epithelial carcinoma cells, Ishikawa cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells with IL-17A revealed significant increase in angiogenic (VEGF, IL-8), pro-inflammatory (IL-6, IL-1β) and chemotactic cytokines (G-CSF, CXCL12, CXCL1, CX3CL1). Furthermore, IL-17A promoted tubulogenesis of HUVECs plated on matrigel in a dose-dependent manner. Thus we provide the first evidence that endometriotic lesions produce IL-17A and that the removal of the lesion via laparoscopic surgery leads to the significant reduction in the systemic levels of IL-17A. Taken together, our data shows a likely important role of IL-17A in promoting angiogenesis and pro-inflammatory environment in the peritoneal cavity for the establishment and maintenance of endometriosis lesions