Genetic divergence in Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema x grandiflora Tzvelev) based on morphological traits

Genetic diversity of thirty-one genotypes of Chrysanthemum were analysed for various growth and flowering related traits. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for all the morphological traits studied. The clustering pattern based on Mahalanobis D2 statistics categorised genotypes into six distinct clusters. The largest cluster i.e. cluster III composed of eleven genotypes followed by cluster II with nine genotypes, cluster I having eight genotypes and cluster IV, V, and VI with one genotype each. The maximum inter-cluster distance was recorded between clusters IV and cluster V (376.87) followed by clusters IV and cluster VI (344.96) and, cluster II and cluster IV (196.81). The maximum intra-cluster distance was observed for cluster III (56.57), followed by cluster II (46.87) and cluster I (29.52). Among all the clusters, genotypes in cluster II recorded highest cluster mean values for number of branches per plant (7.15), number of leaves (119.72) and flowers (91.69) per plant. Among nine characters, number of flowers per plant contributed maximum to divergence (32.26%). Therefore, for chrysanthemum improvement, highly diverse genotypes can be used as parents for crossing to generate high variability

An autopsy study of hematolymphoid malignancies

Background: Hematolymphoid malignancies (HLM) are primary cancers of blood, bone marrow and lymphoid organs associated with high mortality. Clinically undetected cases, diagnosed primarily at autopsy, are common.Methods: Cases of HLMs at autopsy performed in our hospital from 1st January 2009 to 30th June 2017 were analysed. Gross and microscopic findings at autopsy along with clinical parameters were studied. Special stains and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed wherever possible.Results: There were 49 cases of HLMs (0.98 %) among 4971 autopsies conducted during the study period, occurring predominantly in males (70 %). Fifteen (30.61 %) were primarily diagnosed at autopsy. There were 26 lymphomas and 19 leukemias; three patients had multiple myeloma and one patient had Langherhan cell histiocytosis. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was the commonest (24 patients). Nine were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; rare sub-types included angiotrophic lymphoma, post-renal lymphoproliferative disorder and hepatosplenic gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma. Among the 19 leukemias, majority were acute (13 cases) with seven cases of myeloid and six of lymphoid types. IHC was performed in 21 cases which aided the diagnosis. The commonest symptoms were fever (43%) and dyspnoea (37%). Splenomegaly (67%), hepatomegaly (61.2%) and lymphadenopathy (57.1%) were the most common autopsy findings. Infiltrations were seen in various organs; an acute myeloid leukemia (M6) had infiltration of the atrio-ventricular node.Conclusions: One-third cases in the present study were diagnosed at autopsy without any prior clinical suspicion thereby emphasizing on the relevance of autopsy in the current practice of pathology and further studies to improve accuracy of ante-mortem diagnosis

Assessment of soil and water quality status of rose growing areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India

Rose is a commercial flower crop widely grown across India. It is highly sensitive to salinity and alkalinity. In the process of identification of salt and alkalinity resistant rootstocks of rose cultivars, a survey was conducted in the rose growing areas of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Rajasthan. Total of 28 representative surface soil samples were collected from rose fields of these regions, processed and analyzed for the soil quality parameters. Similarly water samples (20 samples) from the bore wells of these fields were collected and analyzed. The results revealed that most of the soils of rose growing fields in UP were alkaline (pH >8.0) with normal salt content (electrical conductivity, EC < 0.5 dS m-1). Many of these soils also had higher bicarbonates (> 3 meq 100 g-1). In case of Rajasthan, few samples had higher pH, EC, chloride (>2 meq 100 g-1) and bicarbonate contents. Exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) of UP and Rajasthan samples ranged from 5.21-20.7% and 2.94-24.9%, respectively. In case of water parameters in these areas, pH was slightly in alkaline range, EC of some of the samples were high (>1 dSm-1). Sodium content was slightly higher than other cations. Soluble sodium percentage (SSP) of water samples was also slightly higher than normal range (0-50%). Few samples had slightly higher chloride above the threshold limit. From the results, it is concluded that soil and water quality of the rose growing areas of UP and Rajasthan is marginal and proper management/reclamation measures need to be carried out for sustaining the production system

STATISTICAL OPTIMIZATION AND EVALUATION OF ETHOSOMAL MICONAZOLE NITRATE SUSPENSION

Objective: The objectives of the present study were to optimize and evaluate the ethosomal suspension of miconazole nitrate for the treatment of local and systemic fungal infections. Methods: Miconazole topical formulation is prepared for better patient compliance and to reduce the dose of a drug. Miconazole nitrate ethosomes were prepared by the cold method using factorial designing with Ethanol(X1), IPA(Isopropyl alcohol)(X2), and Lecithin(X3) as Independent variables and % EE(Entrapment efficiency)(Y1) and % DR(drug release at 8th h)(Y2) was selected as responses. Results: The results obtained in the design showed that there was no significant interaction among factors. The lecithin concentration had a positive response on % EE, while ethanol concentration and IPA had a positive effect. For % DR, Ethanol, and IPA showed a positive effect and Lecithin had a negative response. The formulation EM22 (3 ml X1,3 ml X2 and 300 mg of X3) characterized by high % EE(77.3 %) and optimum % DR(94.2%) and formulation EM6 (2 ml X1,2 ml X2 and 100 mg of X3) characterized by high % DR(97.32 %) and optimum % EE (74.8 %). EM22 was incorporated in the gel as it is showing more entrapment efficiency and compared with the marketed product for drug release. Conclusion: From the result, it was concluded that formulated ethosomal suspension and optimized gel have more drug release than marketed formulation so that formulated suspension can be used for the preparation of antifungal gels, creams, ointments for sustained release

A Review: Multipurpose Garbage Monitoring System Using IoT

In this paper a cost effective dust bin monitoring system with street light is proposed. ?SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN? - PM Narendra Modi?s ambitious project to make INDIA a clean country. An efficient method to monitor the waste has been designed with some sensors and the output will display on the monitoring screen of municipality office. Level sensor detects the level of the garbage inside the bin and thus we get information about the level of garbage in the bins. The weight sensor is mounted at the bottom of dust bin and continuously monitors weight of garbage in to dustbin. On the receiver side continuously monitor garbage in to dustbin. Municipality takes many measures to maintain the cleanliness of the city. One of which is establishing dustbins in regular distance for the convenience of public to discard items. Cleaning this garbage is an important function of municipality which is directly related to health issues. We have designed a model for a ?Smart Dustbin? which indicates directly that the dustbin is filled to a certain level by the garbage and cleaning or emptying them is a matter of immediate concern. This prevents lumping of garbage in the roadside dustbin which ends up giving foul smell and illness to people. The developing system will have a complete monitoring system which is IOT based. Also the information will be directly sent to the internet from system; no need of computer for transmission purpose which reduces the cost

In-silico analysis of PtpA - an antigenic protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

PtpA, a low-molecular weight tyrosine phosphatase, is a secreted protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Many secretory proteins of Mtb are known to be the prominent targets of host immune response. It plays an important role in host-pathogen interaction and it interferes with the passing of the protein from one endosomal vesicle to the next endosomal vesicle in the infected macrophage. It inhibits host phagolysosomal fusion in the infected macrophages and thus allows the bacteria to survive within macrophages. Analysis of primary and secondary structure of the protein was done by ProtParam and GOR IV respectively. Since the number of negatively charged residues are higher than the positively charged residues, PtpA is an acidic protein. Immunity against Mtb is T-cell mediated Thus an important criterion in seeking protective antigens should be that they induce T-cell- mediated immunity. The characterization of PtpA inducing CD4+ T-cell responses could critically contribute to the development of subunit vaccines for Mtb.  Here we performed computational analysis by using Proped, T-cell epitope prediction program. In-silico antigenicity prediction of PtpA was done using VaxiJen. Owing to the  resistance of this protein to the natural immune response, in-silico antigenicity and T-cell epitope prediction will be helpful to design better subunit vaccines to develop effective acquired immune response to Mtb

Clinical Asssessment of Sensorineural Hearing Loss among Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Background: Hearing impairment is known to hamper the quality of life among patients, especially among diabetics due to the association of neuropathy with diabetes. However, the prevalence and degree of the SNHL depends upon different factors, such as age, gender, disease duration of DM, family history and glycemic status of the patients. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the association of SNHL with DM duration and familial DM and gender preponderance among SNHL–DM patients. Methods: Total 140 patients with DM were assessed for hearing impairment using Rinne, Weber and Absolute Bone Conduction Tests along with pure tone audiometry. Patients’ glycaemic status was determined by estimating fasting blood glucose (FBG) and post prandial blood glucose (PPBG) levels. Independent t-test, chi-square, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation tests along with linear regression model were used to find association and correlation using R software. Results: Out of 140 patients, 60 were suffering from SNHL and majority were suffering from bilateral minimal hearing loss. SNHL was significantly associated with family history, age, duration of DM, FBG and PPBG levels were(Pvalues:1.79E08, 4.41E-06 and 0.02), however, significant correlated with duration of DM, FBS and PPBG level (r value:0.14–0.41).Furthermore, significant SNHL at 500 and 8000Hz was observed in the present study (Pvalue:0.002). Conclusion: A conclusive proof was drawn that family history of DM serve as a valuable variable in assessing the SNHL among DM patients

Assessment of genetic variability, character association and path coefficient analysis in Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema x grandiflora Tzvelev)

Thirty-one genotypes of chrysanthemum (Dendranthema x grandiflora Tzvelev) were evaluated for nine growth and flowering related traits to assess the genetic variability, correlation and path coefficient analysis. Significant differences among genotypes for all the growth and flowering related traits were observed through analysis of variance. The range of variation was high for number of leaves plant-1 (66.17-164.50) followed by number of flowers plant-1 (30.67-116.83). The magnitude of phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation for all the characters studied. High (>20%) PCV and GCV was recorded for plant height, number of branches plant-1, number of leaves plant-1, days to bud initiation, days to first flower opening and number of flowers plant-1. Heritability estimates ranged from 77.72% (days to optimum flowering) to 96.93% (number of flowers plant-1). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was recorded for all the traits studied. Number of flowers plant-1 exhibited positive and highly significant correlation with number of branches and leaves plant-1. Path coefficient analysis using correlation coefficients revealed that days to first flower opening (1.564) exhibited positive and very high direct effect, while,number of leaves plant-1 (0.347) and flower diameter (0.337) showed positive and high direct effect. Hence, genotypes with superior traits may be considered for further improvement

Biochemical characterization of defense responses in rose genotypes in response to artificial inoculation with black spot pathogen Diplocarpon rosae

Resistance responses in the leaves of eight rose genotypes, Knock Out (highly resistant), Arka Nishkant (moderately resistant), R. multiflora (highly susceptible), Arka Swadesh (highly susceptible), IIHRR 13-4 (susceptible), Arka Parimala (susceptible), R. indica (susceptible) and IIHRR 4-15-12 (moderately susceptible), exhibiting varied levels of resistance against black spot were investigated post artificial inoculation with black spot pathogen, Diplocarpon rosae. There was consistent increase in the activities of defense related enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, superoxide dismutase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase and other defense related secondary metabolites like phenols and flavonoids at different phases of black spot progression and increase was high in resistant genotypes Knock Out and Arka Nishkant. The peak activity of defense enzymes and high concentration of other metabolites was witnessed during early stages of infection in the resistant genotypes while it was during later phase in the susceptible genotypes. These results suggested that the faster and stronger activation of defense system is associated with the resistance against black spotin the rose genotypes