In Vitro Evaluation of Ethanolic Extracts of Ageratum conyzoides

In vitro efficacy of ethanolic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Ageratum conyzoides and Artemisia absinthium was assessed on Rhipicephalus microplus using adult immersion test (AIT). Five concentrations of the extract (1.25%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) with three replications for each concentration were used in the bioassay. In AIT, the maximum mortality was recorded as 40% and 66.7% at 20% concentration for A. conyzoides and A. absinthium, respectively. Acaricidal activity was found to be higher in the extract of A. absinthium with LC50 and LC95 values of 11.2% and 61.7%, respectively. Egg mass weight of the live ticks treated with different concentrations of the extracts was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of control ticks; consequently, the reproductive index and oviposition values of the treated ticks were reduced significantly (P<0.05). The A. conyzoides inhibited 90% hatching of eggs at the 20% concentration, whereas A. absinthium showed 100% inhibition at 5%, 10%, and 20% concentrations. The results show that A. absinthium has better acaricidal properties than A. conyzoides and could be useful in controlling R. microplus

Double Acetates of Pb(IV) & Sn(IV) Acetates

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Diagnostic value of in situ polymerase chain reaction in childhood leprosy

Objective: Our aim was to assess the diagnostic value of in situ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in leprosy, particularly for enhancing histopathological diagnosis. Methods: We prospectively studied 20 children (aged &lt;16 years) with leprosy. Clinical examination of each case was performed, and skin smear for acid-fast bacillus was prepared. A biopsy of the lesion site was performed for histopathological examination and in situ PCR testing. Results: Histopathological examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis in only 45% of the cases; nonspecific histopathology was reported for the remaining 55% of the cases. In situ PCR showed a positivity of 57.1% in the early/localized form of leprosy (indeterminate/borderline tuberculoid) and 61.5% in the borderline borderline/borderline lepromatous group. When compared with the histopathological examination, a significant enhancement of 15% in diagnosis was seen. With in situ PCR, the diagnosis could be confirmed in 4 (36.3%) of 11 cases with nonspecific histopathological features (which is common in early disease) in addition to confirmation of 8 (88.8%) of 9 histopathologically confirmed tissue sections. Histopathology and in situ PCR combined together confirmed the diagnosis in 13 (65%) of the 20 cases. Conclusions: In situ PCR is an important diagnostic tool, especially in early and doubtful cases of leprosy

Effect of Diseases and Insect-Pests on Forage Quality of Cowpea

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) an important forage legume is mainly cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions of India for its food and fodder value. It is highly nutritive with 23.0, 67.0, 1.8 per cent protein, carbohydrate and fats respectively, and is also a rich source of calcium and iron. Cowpea is also prone to a number of diseases and inset-pests causing great losses in yield and quality of green fodder. High incidence of diseases profoundly reduces yield and quality, whereas insects typically reduce yield more than quality. Cowpea is grown globally in an area of 14 million hectares with an annual production of 4.5 million tonnes. In India, it is cultivated in an area of 1.5 million hectares with annual production of 0.5 million tonnes (Reddy, 2006). In Himachal Pradesh, cowpea is either taken as sole crop or intercropped with maize mainly as Kharif crop in low lying and mid hill areas of state., Wet and humid environmental conditions during the cropping season predispose the crop to the attack of various fungal pathogens and insects pests which cause substantial yield losses

Cabibbo-suppressed non-leptonic B- and D-decays involving tensor mesons

The Cabibbo-suppressed non-leptonic decays of B (and D) mesons to final states involving tensor mesons are computed using the non-relativistic quark model of Isgur-Scora-Grinstein-Wise with the factorization hypothesis. We find that some of these B decay modes, as B --> (K^*, D^*)D^*_2, can have branching ratios as large as 6 x 10^{-5} which seems to be at the reach of future B factories.Comment: Latex, 11 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Mutations in RpoB Gene and Their Association with Rifampicin-resistance Levels in Clinical Isolates of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Present study was aimed to identify most frequent mutations in rpoB gene region and to evaluate the association between mutations in rpoB gene and resistance levels to Rifampicin in clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis of different geographical regions of India. A total of 100 clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were included in this study. Drug susceptibility testing against first line anti-tuberculosis drugs was performed on LJ medium by conventional minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) method and the mutation(s) in rpoB gene of M. tuberculosis isolates were analyzed by sequencing method. Of the 100 M. tuberculosis isolates, 31 (31.0%) and 18 (18.0%) were found resistant and susceptible for all four first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. The genetic mutations were observed in 96% (72/75) rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates, while 4% (3/75) of rifampicin-resistant isolates did not have any mutation in rpoB gene. The mutation TCG531TTG (Ser531Leu) was found as most common and frequent mutation in 69.3% (52/75) of rifampicin-resistant isolates of M. tuberculosis with MIC level (≥ 512mg/l). The mutation at codon 511 was associated with low degree (128mg/l) of rifampicin-resistance, deletions at codons 514-516 or substitution at codon 516 were found to be associated with moderate degree (256mg/l) of rifampicin-resistance and mutations at codon 526, 531 were associated with the high degree (512mg/l) of rifampicin-resistance in M. tuberculosis isolates of Indian origin. The findings of this study will be useful for the development of raid and more specific indigenous molecular tools for the early diagnosis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the country