The Effect of Cinnamon Extract on Spermatogenesis and

Review Article Physio Biochemical Changes During Summer Stress stimuli that disturb normal physiological equilibrium or homeostasis, often with detrimental effects Among the stressors, heat stress has been of major concern in reducing animal's productivity in tropical, subtropical and arid areas High metabolic demands during lactation can also impact the oxidative status of dairy cows. Researchers have reported higher oxidative stress in high-producing dairy cows Buffaloes have poor heat tolerance capacity compared to other domestic ruminants, and are more prone to heat stress due to scarcely distributed sweat glands, dark body colour and sparse hair on the body surface Reactions of homeotherms to moderate climatic changes are compensatory and are directed at restoring thermal balance Oxidative stress Oxidative stress results from increased production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species, and a decrease in antioxidant defense Antioxidants Antioxidants are those nutrients which are required to cleanse cells of ROS. Vitamin E, vitamin A and vitamin C are classic examples of antioxidants. Antioxidant in low concentrations significantly delays or inhibits oxidation of oxidisable substrates. The endogenous antioxidant capacity of the animal consists of three main groups of antioxidants Tissue defense mechanisms against free-radical damage generally include vitamin C, vitamin E, and β-carotene as the major vitamin antioxidant sources. In addition, several (Cu, Zn, and Mn) are also critical in protecting the internal cellular constituents from oxidative damage Superoxide dismutase (SOD) Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was first isolated by The major defense in detoxification of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, are superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase There is an increased production of superoxide radicals from threshold concentration due to stress conditions imposed either by thermal stress or physiological status (pregnancy/lactation) of an animal. Catalase (CAT) Catalase is a heme-containing enzyme that catalyses the dismutation of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. In peroxisomes, catalase takes care of the cytosolic and mitochondrial peroxides formed during urate oxidation Hydrogen peroxide production was found to increase due to augmented SOD activity during heat stress Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) GPx is a selenium dependent antioxidant enzyme. It converts H 2 O 2 to water. The increased production of H 2 O 2 due to increased activity of SOD during heat stress resulted in a coordinated increase in GPX. Bisla et al. (2000) reported that GSH concentration increased due to oxidative stress caused by diaphragmatic herniorrhaphy in buffaloes. The concentration of erythrocytic GSH-PX increased with the advancement of pregnancy in buffaloes, and its concentration was significantly higher on the day of parturition (912.5917.46 U/mL) compared to day 30 before parturition (819.4122.33 U/mL) 425 Physio Biochemical Changes During Summer Stress The view that GPX concentration in buffaloes increases during thermal stress conditions. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) Lipid peroxidation is commonly measured in terms of TBARS. TBARS is known to be one of the oxidative stress markers in the plasma. However, the thiobarbituric acid test would be considered to be a good general indicator of oxidative stress rather than a marker of lipid peroxidation. Oxidative stress can lead to increase in TBARS (Halliwel and Chirico, 1993). Unsaturated fatty acid oxidation by ROS in the presence of iron generates additional lipid centric radicals through the Fenton's reaction that leads to the formation of lipid hydro-peroxides Plasma protein Asignificant increase in the serum protein of sheep exposed to heat stress. The increase in serum protein could be a physiological attempt to maintain extended plasma volume. Observed little variation in serum protein concentration in buffaloes during spring and summer seasons. Serum total protein concentrations were 44 g/L and 51 g/L in summer and winter seasons, respectively, as reported by El-Masery and Marai (1991), while Yousef (1990) reported slightly higher protein concentrations of 7.4 and 9.5 g/dL in the same seasons, respectively, in Egyptian buffalo calves. High environmental temperature caused an increase in total plasma protein in lactating cattle Plasma albumin A significant increase in plasma albumin levels was reported in cows (El-Masery and Marai, 1991) and buffalo calves Physiological responses to heat stress Increasing air temperature above the critical threshold is related with reduced feed intake Core (Rectal) body temperature Change in rectal temperature has been considered an indicator of heat storage in animal's body and may be used to assess the adversity of thermal environment, which can affect growth, lactation and reproduction of dairy animals The plasma concentration of vitamin C is ruminants is an oxidative stress indicator which is affected by heat stress. A negative correlation between rectal temperature and ascorbic acid concentrations of Bos taurus cattle in the hot season was reported by Joshi and Tripathy, (1991) noticed an increase in rectal temperature from 102.0 ˚F to 103.8 ˚F when buffalo calves were exposed to 40.5 ˚C for eight hours daily for three months. High relative humidity reduced the effectiveness of the evaporative cooling, and the high relative humidity coupled with high environmental temperature apparently overwhelmed the capacity of the cow to maintain normal body temperature The high rectal temperature observed for the heat stressed animals was the indicator of disturbance in the homoeothermic status of the animals which was not being effectively countered by the enhanced heat loss by physical and physiological processes of thermolysis Respiration rate Respiration rate was the indicator of heat stress in the hot environment and gave significant correlations with circulat- (Vijay Kumar, 2005). Normal respiration rate is approximately 10 -30 breaths/minute. The respiration rate increased when the environmental temperature increased. An evaporative heat loss from the respiratory tract is regarded as one of the primary mechanisms for maintenance of heat balance. This respiratory response arises from direct heat stimulation of peripheral receptors, which transmit nervous impulses to the thermal centre in the hypothalamus. A high RR in most cases did not necessarily indicate that the animal is successful in keeping its body temperature constant, but rather indicated that it is already overheated and trying to restore normal heat balance. A higher respiration rate of 71.5/minute during summer compared to 38.8/minute in winter was recorded in lactating cows by The increase in respiratory frequency was two and half times in heat stressed animals than control animals Pulse rate Pulse rate did not exhibit consistent and a definite trend with changing environmental conditions. Observed a decrease in pulse rate whereas, and REFERENCE

Performance of Different Maize Varieties under Front Line Demonstrations in District Kupwara

To improve the seed replacement rate and adoption rate of maize technologies front line demonstration on different high yielding region specific maize varieties were carried out in Kupwara. 120 Front Line Demonstrations on Maize Varieties were conducted at Farmers Field in District Kupwara in the current investigation to show the impact of high yielding varieties of Maize viz. Shalimar Composite-4, Shalimar Maize Composite-3, KG-2, Shalimar QPMH-1 and LQMH-1 with recommended Package of Practices and compared with local check during the Kharif seasons of 2020 and 2021.The improved high yielding varieties Shalimar omposite-4 , Shalimar Maize Composite-3,KG-2, Shalimar QPMH-1 and LQMH-1  recorded   yield of 48, 58  45  68 and 85 qs/ha respectively as compared to local  varieties with yield of 16.00, 18.00, 13.00, 25.00 and 25.00q /ha. Respectively. The technology gap of, SMC-4, SMC-3, KG-2, Shalimar QPMH-1 and LQMH-1 was recorded as 2,8,5,2 and 5 q/ha respectively and extension gap was recorded as 40,31,32,43,60q/ha respectively. The technology index with respect to, SMC-4, SMC-3, KG-2 Shalimar QPMH-1 and LQMH-1 was recorded as 3.3,14.54,10.00,2.85 and 5.55-% respectively