Efficacy of Natural Plant Products, Azadirachta Indica, Ocimum Sanctum and Pongamia Pinnata in the Management of Greater Wax Moth, Galleria Mellonella L. Under Laboratory Conditions

Use of Natural plant products in the management of the greater wax moth,G. mellonellaL. under laboratory conditions was carried out. The results revealed that the larval mortality of wax moth varied significantly with three different plant products concentrations. The mortality was high with seed extract of Neem (Azadirachtaindica) and is ranging from 84.81 ± 2.7 to 93.65 ±3.25 per cent at different concentrations. Tulasi( Ocimum sanctum)leaf extract of different concentrations showed moderate larval mortality for differentinstars ranging from 65.36 ±4.36 to 73.41± 4.46percent. The corresponding mortality for Pongamia (Pongamia pinnata)seed extract was low31.10 ± 3.38 to 52.1 ± 19.85. The effect s of tulasi were moderate while pongamia caused the lowest mortality. Of thethree plant products tested Neem performed better under all the experimental conditions

Case report on tuberous sclerosis

Tuberous sclerosis is a genetic multisystem disorder characterized by widespread hamartomas in several organs, including the brain, heart, skin, eyes, kidney, lung and liver.  The affected genes are TSC1 and TSC2, encoding hamartin and tuberin respectively.  Most features of tuberous sclerosis become evident only in childhood, limiting their usefulness for early diagnosis. We report a case of 3months old female child with seizures and hypo-pigmented skin lesions. The case is rare as it is documented in a family affected continuously in three generations involving four members

Tigers of Sundarbans in India: Is the Population a Separate Conservation Unit?

The Sundarbans tiger inhabits a unique mangrove habitat and are morphologically distinct from the recognized tiger subspecies in terms of skull morphometrics and body size. Thus, there is an urgent need to assess their ecological and genetic distinctiveness and determine if Sundarbans tigers should be defined and managed as separate conservation unit. We utilized nine microsatellites and 3 kb from four mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes to estimate genetic variability, population structure, demographic parameters and visualize historic and contemporary connectivity among tiger populations from Sundarbans and mainland India. We also evaluated the traits that determine exchangeability or adaptive differences among tiger populations. Data from both markers suggest that Sundarbans tiger is not a separate tiger subspecies and should be regarded as Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris) subspecies. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA data revealed reciprocal monophyly. Genetic differentiation was found stronger for mtDNA than nuclear DNA. Microsatellite markers indicated low genetic variation in Sundarbans tigers (He= 0.58) as compared to other mainland populations, such as northern and Peninsular (Hebetween 0.67- 0.70). Molecular data supports migration between mainland and Sundarbans populations until very recent times. We attribute this reduction in gene flow to accelerated fragmentation and habitat alteration in the landscape over the past few centuries. Demographic analyses suggest that Sundarbans tigers have diverged recently from peninsular tiger population within last 2000 years. Sundarbans tigers are the most divergent group of Bengal tigers, and ecologically non-exchangeable with other tiger populations, and thus should be managed as a separate "evolutionarily significant unit" (ESU) following the adaptive evolutionary conservation (AEC) concept.Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun (India)

Prevalence of mental illness and their association with sociodemographic factors in the rural geriatric population in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India: A community-based study

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems such as cognitive impairment, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders arising out of senility, neurosis, and living conditions are common in the geriatric population. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of mental illness and to describe their sociodemographic factors in the rural geriatric population and see their association with other factors. METHODOLOGY: A community-based cross-sectional study was done on individuals aged more than 60 years. The study instruments were predesigned semi-structured questionnaire, Folstein's Mini–Mental Status Examination Scale for assessing dementia in cognitive functioning and Yesavages Geriatric Depression Scale to estimate the prevalence of depression and to assess the activities of the daily living by Barthel index and the anxiety were assessed based on the perception of the participants while conducting the interview. RESULTS: A total of 415 individuals participated, out of them 199 (47.9%) were males and 216 (52.1%) were females. Prevalence of mental illness was 217 (52.2%) with one or the other type of mental illness. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 47.7% and depression according to Geriatric Depression Scale >5 was 27.7%. The remaining 62 (14.9%) had dementia and 30 (7.2%) had anxiety disorder as the mental illness. The socio-demographic factors such as age more than 70 years, female gender, illiterates, living in joint family, middle and lower socio-economic class, financially totally dependent and had poor and unfair relationship with the family members were strongly associated with the mental illness and it was statistically significant with P < 0.05. CONCLUSION: Measures should be taken to support the elders, establish community elderly societies, advisory offices, and services to help the elderly. The sequence of social interventions required for the management of the elderly psychological problems

Comparative study on hepatoprotective activity of Pongamia pinnata (PP) & Annona squamosa (AS) leaf extracts against anti-tubercular drugs (isoniazid & rifampin) induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Objectives: - The goal of this study is to compare the effects of Pongamia Pinnata and Annona Squamosa on anti-tubercular medicines-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Materials and Procedures: - In rats, hepatotoxicity was caused by administering a suspension of isoniazid and rifampin orally for 21 days. Pongamia Pinnata and Annona Squamosa, as well as anti-tubercular medicines, were given to the treatment groups. Biochemical &amp; histological criteria were used to measure liver destruction. Results: - The use of Pongamia Pinnata and Annona Squamosa in combination with anti-tubercular medicines dramatically reduced Serum Glutamate Pyruvic Transaminase (SGPT), Serum Glutamate Oxaloacetic Transaminase (SGOT)&amp; tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Inflammation, degeneration, and necrotic alterations in hepatocytes were reduced. Pongamia Pinnata also reduced a drop in blood Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) when compared to a control group getting only anti-tubercular medicines. Pongamia Pinnata, on the other hand, had no statistically significant effects when compared to Annona Squamosa and silymarin. Conclusion: - Annona Squamosa was found to be an effective hepatoprotective agent in rats, as it considerably reduced the hepatotoxic damage caused by anti-tubercular medicines. However, when the effects of Pongamia Pinnata &amp; Annona Squamosa or silymarin were compared, there was no statistically significant difference

Complex macroscale structures formed by the shock processing of amino acids and nucleobases -- implications to the origins of life

The building blocks of life, amino acids and nucleobases, are believed to have been synthesized in the extreme conditions that prevail in space starting from simple molecules containing hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. However, the fate and role of amino acids and nucleobases when they are subjected to similar processes largely remains unexplored. Here we report, for the first time, that shock processed amino acids and nucleobases tend to form complex macroscale structures. Such structures are formed on timescales of about 2 ms. This discovery suggests that the building blocks of life could have polymerized not just on Earth but on other planetary bodies. Our study also provides further experimental evidence for the 'threads' observed in meteorites being due to assemblages of (bio)molecules arising from impact induced shocks.by Vijay Thiruvenkatam et al