Assessment of change in cervical and shoulder posture due to carriage of different weight of backpack

Present experimental research was planned to measure the percentage change in angle of cervical and shoulder posture of students due to carriage of different weights of backpack. For the above purpose total 30 students (15 boys and 15 girls) from the CBSE affiliated school of Meerut were selected by using the random and purposive sampling method. All the students were from the 7th class and belonged to the age group of 10-13 years. To measure the percentage change in cervical and spinal angle in terms of extension, flexion and range of motion (ROM), six experimental conditions were planned. These experimental conditions were as (1) change in cervical and spinal region in unloaded state without backpack, (2) with backpack on right shoulder, (3) with backpack on the both shoulder, (4) with backpack of 10 % reference body weight, (5) with backpack of 15 % reference body weight and (6) with backpack of 20 % reference body weight. These experiments were conducted by using by using inclinometer (Dualar IQ). Furthermore results were analyzed by using the mean, standard deviation (SD), range and ANOVA test.In result, it was found that the value of cervical and spinal region angles in static condition was increased with increase in weight of back pack i.e. 10 %, 15 % and 20 % of reference body weight in the girls and boys. Whereas, the angle of deviation of spinal and cervical region especially flexion and extension of boys and girls in dynamic condition was found to be decreasing with increase in 10 %, 15 % and 20 % body weight of backpack. Based on current study results, a schoolbag should not be more than 5% or body weight among the girl students and 10 % of body weight among boy students. Otherwise, it will be a risk factor for postural problems either immediately or during adulthood that needs to be cured urgently

A case report of pulmonary and muscular cysticercosis

Pulmonary cysticercosis is extremely rare manifestation of a rather common disease which is distributed worldwide. Most common sites for the growth of cysticercosis are muscle and brain followed by eye. Pulmonary involvement in cysticercosis is very rare and if at all present, then ill-defined nodular shadows distributed throughout the lung is the usual radiological presentation which might be attributed to other diseases also. No case of cysticercosis presenting as lung parenchymal along with muscular involvement without cerebral involvement has been reported so far in literature. We came across a rarest presentation of cysticercosis as pulmonary involvement. After nullifying all the differential diagnosis of parenchymal nodular lesions as seen on CT chest and with clinical suspicion, a diagnosis of pulmonary cysticercosis was made as enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) titres for cysticercosis was significantly raised. Case was successfully treated with albendazole (15 mg/kg) with steroid cover with resolution of lesions as well.

Taxonomic redescription of subfamily Scymninae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from Haryana, India

The ladybird beetles of Scymninae, a subfamily of Coccinellidae are efficient biocontrol agents. Many earlier studies document their protective role associated with many crops. This subfamily is represented by 5 tribes,15 genera and 138 species in the Indian subcontinent. However there is no scientific record of taxonomic description of the subfamily Scymninae within the Coccinellidae family of beetles (Coccinellidae: Coleoptera)  in Haryana, India. In the present study, seven species from three genera and two tribes of sub-family Scymninae i.e. Nephus (Bipunctatus) bipunctatus (Kugelann,1794), Nephus regularis (Sicard), Scymnus (Pullus) coccivora Ramakrishna Ayyar, 1925, Scymnus (Pullus) latemaculatus Motschulsky, Scymnus (Scymnus) nubilus Mulsant, Scymnus (Pullus) posticalis Sicard and Stethorus aptus Kapur were identified. It included the generation of keys to the tribes, genera, subgenera and species found during the study. It provided detailed taxonomy of the identified species based on various morphological characteristics such as coxal lines, antennae, mandibles, and male and female genitalia. This study marks the first taxonomic exploration of species within the Scymninae subfamily in Haryana, India. It will significantly contribute to understanding the biodiversity of beetles in the region and will lay the groundwork for further research and conservation initiatives.

Development of a web-based tool for probit analysis to compute LC50/LD50/GR50 for its use in toxicology studies

The toxicity bioassays are essential to detect and estimate the potential toxicological effects of chemicals on an organism. LC50/LD50/GR50 is the estimation of dose/concentration necessary to kill 50 per cent of a population of the test species. Experimentally this is done by administrating a chemical at different doses to a group of organism and then observing the resulting mortalities in a set of the time period. A web-based module for a statistical analysis tool to calculate and compare the median lethal dose has been developed in ASP scripting language based on Server-Client Architecture. The module produces the final probit line, dose-response curve, LC50/LD50 with 95 % confidence interval. The Chi-square statistic has been obtained for testing the adequacy of fit. A user-friendly interface for entering/pasting the data and various parameters such as number of variables, number of observations etc. has also been provided. Additionally, a complete procedure to perform probit analysis has also been provided in the help file

VPS35 pathogenic mutations confer no dominant toxicity but partial loss of function in Drosophila and genetically interact with parkin.

Mutations in VPS35 (PARK17) cause autosomal dominant, late onset Parkinson's disease (PD). VPS35 forms a core component of the retromer complex that mediates the retrieval of membrane proteins from endosomes back to either the Golgi or plasma membrane. While aberrant endosomal protein sorting has been linked to several neurodegenerative diseases the mechanisms by which VPS35 mutations and retromer function contribute to PD pathogenesis are not clear. To address this we generated transgenic Drosophila that express variant forms of human VPS35 found in PD cases and the corresponding variants of the Drosophila ortholog. We did not find evidence of dominant toxicity from any variant form including the pathogenic D620N mutation, even with aging. However, assessing the ability of Vps35 variants to rescue multiple vps35 mutant phenotypes we found that the D620N mutation confers a partial loss of function. Recently, VPS35 has been linked to the formation of mitochondria derived vesicles, which mediate the degradation of mitochondrial proteins and contribute to mitochondrial quality control. This process is also promoted by two other PD-lined genes parkin (PARK2) and PINK1 (PARK6). We demonstrate here that vps35 genetically interacts with parkin but interestingly not with pink1. Strikingly, Vps35 overexpression is able to rescue several parkin mutant phenotypes. Together these findings provide in vivo evidence that the D620N mutation likely confers pathogenicity through a partial loss of function mechanism, and that this may be linked to other known pathogenic mechanisms such as mitochondrial dysfunction

COVID-19 pneumonia and mucormycosis a new challenging duo- rhino-occulo-cerebral mucormycosis: a case report

The pandemic of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed challenge not only in management of the primary disease but the emerging complications associated with COVID-19 has further complicated the course of disease. The course of COVID-19 disease is associated with infectious and noninfectious complications former include secondary bacterial and fungal infection adding to mortality and morbidity. COVID-19 disease associated candidiasis and aspergillosis have been reported as super infections but with the steroid and supplemental oxygen as mainstay treatment modality mucormycosis is now complicating the course of disease and presently posing challenge in India with already overburdened health care service. Mucorales is a saphrophytic fungi causes rhinocerebral infection involving nasal passages, sinuses, oral cavity and brain. It is usually seen in immunocompromised host and in diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugar level. High degree of clinical suspicion is needed to suspect and diagnose mucormycosis. It is a fatal disease because of its angioinvasive pathogenesis and treatment is promptly initiated to salvage mortality and morbidity. Authors report a case of rhino-oculo-cerebral mucormycosis in a middle-aged diabetic patient with severe COVID-19 disease

Avian diversity and conservation status in Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary, Jhajjar (Haryana), India

Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary is a Ramsar site located in Haryana, India, which falls in the Central Asian flyway zone of the migratory birds. Its diverse ecological resources sustain a rich diversity of migratory and threatened birds.The species diversity, threat status, population trend and feeding guild of the avifauna in Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary, Haryana, India, was explored from October 2021 to October 2023.The data was collected every fortnightly using the line transects method. A total of 129 bird species belonging to 98 genera, 47 families and 17 orders were recorded. Order Passeriformes, with 45 species in 20 families, dominated the avifauna, followed by Anseriformes with 16 species, Charadriformes with 12 species and the rest of 15 orders. Anatidae was the most dominant family representing 12.40% (n=16). Among the reported species, 81 were residents, 36 were winter migrants and, 10 were summer migrants and 2 were passage migrants. One species was endangered and vulnerable in the threat status, while six were classified as near threatened as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (INUC) Red List, 2022. The bird sanctuary also supported 35 bird species with a declining population trend globally. The omnivorous and carnivorous feeding habits were equally dominant, followed by insectivorous and, nectarivorous and herbivorous birds, which were the least numerous. The presence of both resident and migrant birds of global conservation priority confirms the importance and conservation of Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary as a rich avifauna diversity habitat.

Economic impact of zero tillage on wheat cultivation in Ambala (Haryana), India

The present study was conducted with the specific objective i.e. to analyze the economic impact of recourse conservation technology (zero tillage) as compare to conventional tillage practices on wheat cultivation in Ambala district of Haryana. The study revealed that there was significant impact of conservation practices, 22% human labour, 37% machine labour, 25% seed cost and 33% irrigation water was saved under zero tillage compared to conventional tillage (CT) method of wheat production. B: C ratio under zero tillage was 2.86 while underconventional method it was reduced to 2.56. Therefore, zero tillage was economically feasible. It was observed that through the zero tillage farmers can get 3% more yield. The net returns in ZT of wheat production were higher by 4% as compared to CT method. In case of zero tillage, economic efficiency measure was 0.61 as compared to 0.34 in conventional system of wheat cultivation. The research work conducted was holistic in nature combining various elements of technology, resource conservation and economics

Analysis of genetic diversity among tropical and subtropical maize inbred lines using SSR markers

Genetic diversity of 24 tropical and subtropical elite maize lines was assessed at molecular level employ-ing 42 Simple Sequence Repeats. A total of 107 alleles with an average of 2.55 alleles per locus were detected. The Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) values of 42 SSR loci ranged from 0.08 (UMC1428) to 0.68 (UMC2189 and UMC2332) with the overall calculated PIC mean value of 0.44, whereas the Discrimination Rate (DR) value for SSR markers ranged from 0.09 (UMC2089) to 0.42 (UMC1311) with the average DR value of 0.26. Pair-wise genet-ic similarity (GS) values, calculated by Jaccard’s coefficients, ranged between 0.25 and 0.78 with a mean genetic similarity of 0.63, indicating the existence of adequate amount of genetic divergence among the genotypes selected for the study. The cluster dendrogram separated all the inbred lines into six main clusters with sub clusters based on genetic similarity. Factorial analysis also confirmed a nearly similar pattern for grouping these inbred lines as pre-sented by cluster dendrogram. In this study, SSR markers were found to be powerful tool for detection of genetic diversity in maize inbred lines. These findings could provide information for effective utilization of these materials for development of maize hybrids as well as for genetic improvement of inbred lines