A Study on Genotoxic Potential of Acephate in Clarias batrachus

Acephate is an insecticide made up of organophosphates. It is applied to food crops, citrus trees, on golf courses, in commercial or institutional buildings, and as a seed treatment. Products containing acephate can be purchased as tablets, liquids, granules, powders, and water-soluble packs. Acephate 75% brand name-Asataf insecticide manufactured by TATA RALLIS was used for the test. The solvent used was glass double distilled (g.d.d.) water. Fresh water catfish    Clarias batrachus were collected from local water bodies of Cuttack district. All the fishes were acclimatized for fifteen days in laboratory aquaria containing 30L dechlorinated tap water prior to the initiation of the experiment. The peripheral blood smear slides were prepared from the blood collected by caudal incision in accordance with Al-Sabti (1986) and Das and Nanda (1986) with some modifications which were prepared animals were sacrificed after 24, 48 and 72 hours of Exposure and were used for each treatment group in both types of administrations (IP and dermal). The increased concentration of acephate directly affects our biological fish sample i.e. Clarias batrachus. Acephate is causing serious problems in fish as per our genotoxicity study of acephate on Clarias batrachus. Clarias batrachus is a commonly found fish species in fresh water habitat which includes ponds, ditches, wetlands and rice fields of India specially in Odisha.The irrational use of pesticides containing acephate in agriculture cause harmful effects on Clarias batrachus, which is a most important species of fish for maintaining the aquatic diversity

DESIGN OF EFFICIENT DELAY BLOCK FOR LOW FREQUENCY APPLICATION

In recent years researchers have been  focusing on the design of low power and small size oscillator for emerging areas of interest such as the internet of things (IoT) and biomedical applications. In this paper a new delay block for ring oscillator is proposed using CMOS inverter cascaded with inverted current starved inverter (CICSI). The designed delay block provides approximately 50% more delay with a smaller number of transistors than the conventionally designed circuits. Furthermore, a ring oscillator and a non-overlapping clock (NOC) generator are designed using it. The designed circuits can be used in switched capacitor (SC) circuits, analog mixed signal circuits to meet the need for low frequency portable biomedical applications. The designed circuits are simulated on Generic 90nm 1.2V Process Design Kit (GPDK90) using Cadence Virtuoso Design Environment. The simulation result shows the delay of the CICSI delay block is 592ps. The ring oscillator using 101 stages of delay block is designed and it is shown that it operates at a frequency of  17MHz with a power consumption of 420µW

Biochemical Changes of Chickpea Genotypesbefore and After Infestation of Pulse Beetle, Callosobruchus Chinensis L. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) During Storage

The pulse beetle is a field-to-store pest as its infestation on pulses often begins in the field itself as adults lay eggs on mature pods and when such seed is harvested and stored, the pest population increases rapidly and results in total destruction within a short period of 3-4 months. Keeping in view,varietal screening of fifty chickpea genotypes was carried outin the storage laboratory, Department of Entomology, OUAT, BBSR and the performance of the genotypes was assessed based on various biological parameters of test insect, damage and infestation by C. chinensis. The results indicated that none of the genotypes was completely resistant to pest attack whereas 4 genotypes (Himachal Chana 1, Dheera (NBeG-47), JG-14 and Dilaji) were found moderately resistant, 8 genotypes (Phule Vikram, JG 11, ICCV-181108, ICCV-181107, ICCV-181605, C-18203, C-18205 and C-18252) were moderately susceptible,11 genotypes (RVG-204, RVG-203, JAKI-9218, Pratap Chana, Bharati, ICCC 4, ICCV-181106, ICCV-181612, C-18206, ICCV-181101 and Radhey) were susceptible and 27 genotypes (NBeG-49, Himachal Chana 2, JG-16, JG-130, CO 4, Vishal, Kranthi, NBeG-3, ICCV-14102, ICCV-171117, C-18175, ICCV-181611,ICCV-14106, Kalahandi Local, ICC 3137, ICCL 86111, C-19162, C-19168,GNG 2207, BG 3043, GG 3, Birsa Chana 3, C 19199, RSG 963, C 19200, KPG 59and NBeG 119) were noticed to be highly susceptible. The bio-chemicalconstituents analyzed in the present studies viz., protein, phenol, ash and fibre contents of the genotypes contributed to the resistance / susceptibility of C. chinensis. Among the biochemical parameters, protein exerted significant positive effect whereas phenol, ash and fibre contents exhibited negative influence on pest infestation and development

Dielectric and Raman spectroscopic studies of Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BaSnO3 ferroelectric system

A series of lead-free perovskite solid solutions of (1-x) Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3(NBT)x BaSnO3(BSN), for 0.0x0.15 have been synthesized using a high-temperature solid-state reaction route. The phase transition behaviors are studied using dielectric and Raman spectroscopic techniques. The ferroelectric to relaxor phase transition temperature (TFR) and the temperature corresponding to maximum dielectric permittivity (Tm) are estimated from the temperature-dependent dielectric data. Dielectric studies show diffuse phase transition around similar to 335 degrees C in pure NBT and this transition temperature decreases with increase in x. The disappearance of x-dependence of A1 mode frequency at similar to 134cm-1 for x0.1 is consistent with rhombohedral-orthorhombic transition. In situ temperature dependence Raman spectroscopic studies show disappearance and discontinuous changes in the phonon mode frequencies across rhombohedral (x<0.1)/orthorhombic (x0.1) to tetragonal transition

Role of plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer as prognostic biomarkers in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Abstract Background We aimed to evaluate the role of plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer as prognostic biomarkers in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Methods The prospective study included 35 patients (30 males) with newly diagnosed NMIBC with no history of thromboembolic event or anti-coagulant intake or active infection and underwent complete trans-urethral resection between September 2020 and December 2021. Patients with deranged hepato-renal functions, refractory hypertension or diagnosed with COVID-19 infection with in one-month before surgery or routine follow-up were excluded. Follow-up was done as per NCCN guidelines. Fibrinogen and D-dimer levels were measured with in seven days of surgery or follow-up and analyzed for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Cox regression analyses were adopted to assess the influence of these two parameters on RFS and PFS. Results The mean age was 53.9 years with a median follow-up of 9-months. Nine had recurrence of which six had progression. The cut-off values of fibrinogen and D-dimer were 402.5 mg/dl and 0.55 µg/ml, respectively. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that high fibrinogen and D-dimer levels were significantly related to poor RFS and PFS (p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis only fibrinogen and D-dimer retained their significance for RFS (p = 0.026 and 0.014, respectively) and PFS (p = 0.027 and 0.042, respectively). High levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer were also present in patients who had recurrence or progression at follow-up visits compared to rest of the patients. Conclusions High levels of fibrinogen and D-dimer may indicate worse prognosis in patients with NMIBC, suggesting that these two can be used as prognostic biomarkers

Phase transition and magneto-electric coupling of BiFeO3-YMnO3 multiferroic nanoceramics

We report the crystal structure, dielectric, magnetic, and magneto-electric properties of (1-x) BiFeO3-xYMnO(3) (0.00 <= x <= 0.2) multiferroic nanoceramics prepared by auto-combustion technique. YMnO3 substitution is found to induce a structural phase transition from R3c to R3c+Pbnm after x approximate to 0.1 using Rietveld refinement technique. Field emission scanning electron micrographs show decrease in grain size with increase in YMnO3 content. The dielectric permittivity and loss tangent are found to be increased with composition x. The anomalies noticed from the temperature dependent dielectric analysis reveal the signature of magneto-electric coupling in the system. A decrease in magnetic ordering temperature as a function of composition is found from dielectric study. At room temperature, the dielectric permittivity of all the YMnO3 modified samples decrease with increasing magnetic field. The maximum value of magneto-electric coupling coefficient (epsilon(H)-epsilon(0))/epsilon(0) is found to be similar to -5.5% at H = 2 T for x = 0.2. The behaviour of the magnetic hysteresis loop observed at room temperature suggests the suppression of space modulated spin structure. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC

Desiccant Beads: A Novel Tool for Managing Pulse Beetle in Stored Chickpea

Chickpea is the most dominant pulse having a major share under area shown 65 per cent and production 72 per cent followed by lentil and field pea. Pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis L. is a primary pest of stored chickpea which causes 50-60 per cent loss in seed weight and 45.5-66.3 per cent loss in protein content of the seeds (Rustamani et al., 1985) and injudicious and indiscriminate use of hazardous synthetic chemicals for preventing storage losses in chickpea may lead to human and animal health issues due to residual hazards. Therefore, the biorational management of the pulse beetle in stored chickpea has been undertaken keeping biology in mind will prevent the loss as well as protect human health hazard.The experiments on non-chemical biorational approaches like effect of desiccant beadswhich control the pulse beetle efficiently but have lesser toxicity hazards to non-target organisms and the environment was studied in the Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, OUAT, BBSR, Odisha during 2018-2021.The results showed that desiccant beads viz., zeolite and sodium aluminium silicate impregnated with chickpea seeds in the ratio of 1:1 proved effective in suppression of the pulse beetle in chickpeaduring six months of storage

Structural, microstructural and magneto-electric properties of single-phase BiFeO3 nanoceramics prepared by auto-combustion method

Polycrystalline nano BiFeO3 powders were synthesized by auto-combustion method using urea as fuel and metal nitrates (Fe(NO3)(3).9H(2)O, Bi(NO3)(3)-5H(2)O) as oxidizers. In order to optimize the single-phase synthesis condition of BiFeO3, different fuel to oxidizer ratios have been investigated. The preliminary structural investigation using X-ray diffraction shows the samples were of single phase and crystallize in rhombohedral structure (R3c). The ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic ordering temperatures of BiFeO3 were found to be 832 degrees C and 364 degrees C respectively, from differential thermal analysis. The temperature dependent dielectric study shows an anomaly around 215 degrees C which corresponds to magneto-electric coupling in the material. Field-emission scanning electron micrographs show effect of fuel to oxidizer ratio on grain size evolution. The ferroelectric hysteresis loops for all the samples were measured at a frequency of 100 Hz confirming the ferroelectric nature. An evidence of magneto-electric coupling was also observed at room temperature from magneto-capacitance measurements. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The extent of genetic diversity among Vanilla species: comparative results for RAPD and ISSR

Vanilla is a large genus of about 110 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), including the species Vanilla planifolia from which commercial vanilla flavoring is derived. Since most species of vanilla are considered rare and endangered there is an urgent need to conserve them through genetic analysis and propagation/conservation studies on this crop. The present study investigated the genetic diversity among nine leafy-and leaf-less Vanilla species employing 30 decamer RAPD primers and 10 ISSR primers. The species under study were diverse and displayed a range of variability (0-66% and 0-81% for RAPD and ISSR, respectively). A total of 154 RAPD polymorphic markers (83.24%, h=0.378) and 93 ISSR polymorphic markers (86.11%, h=0.363) were used to generate a genetic similarity matrix followed by the cluster analysis. Specific groupings were revealed by each cluster analysis with slight variation between two different markers. Among the nine species studied, V. planifolia, Vanilla aphylla and Vanilla tahitensis revealed very low level of variation within their collections, thus indicating a narrow genetic base. The large genetic distance of Vanilla andamanica from other species suggests its different origin. A close genetic affinity was observed between the pairs V. planifolia, V. tahitensis and Vanilla albida, V. aphylla. These are the first comparative results for RAPD and ISSR reporting inter-relationship among nine cultivated, wild and hybrid Vanilla species