Induction of Oxidative Stress by Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment in Rice Genotypes to Study the Osmolyte Accumulation Pattern and Antioxidant Capacity

The aim of the study was to compare the rice genotypes for oxidative stress tolerance. Induction of oxidative stress, by in vivo treatment with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in rice genotypes to study the osmolyte accumulation pattern and antioxidant capacity was investigated. Leaf strips of uniform size from rice genotypes FL 478, IR 29,Co 43 and FR13A were subjected to various concentrations of H2O2 (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 mM). All the four rice genotypes exhibited varied responses to proline accumulation. FL 478 and Co 43 exhibited an increase in the accumulation of proline contents initially with low concentrations of H2O2, and thereafter showed a sharp decline in proline contents with higher concentrations. Degradation of protein contents in rice leaves was observed in all the varieties and the protein contents decreased with increase in concentration of hydrogen peroxide treatment. A gradual increase in the activities of catalase and peroxidase were recorded under H2O2 treatments. Significant upregulation of antioxidant enzyme systems and slow degradation of protein contents in the tolerant genotypes (FR 13A and FL 478) play important roles in stress protection

Effect of Yoga Therapy with Ayurvedic Diet on Sleep Quality Among Aged Insomniac Women

This study investigates the impact of a holistic approach combining Yoga therapy and Ayurvedic dietary interventions on sleep quality in aged women suffering from insomnia. A single group study was conducted, involving aged women (age range: 60 to 70years) diagnosed with insomnia based on standardized assessment criteria. The intervention group attended supervised Yoga sessions six times a week for 12 weeks, complemented by personalized Ayurvedic dietary recommendations. The primary outcome measure was sleeping quality, assessed using standardized sleep quality indice, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), administered at baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks). Secondary outcome measure was anxiety and fear acessed by VAS (Visual Analog Scale). Preliminary results indicate a significant improvement in sleep quality in the intervention group, as evidenced by reductions in ISI scores, anxiety and fear (p < 0.001). These results imply that the integration of Yoga therapy with Ayurvedic dietary practices can have a positive and long-lasting impact on quality of sleep and general wellbeing in aged women with insomnia. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential benefits of a holistic approach to addressing insomnia in aged women, emphasizing the role of complementary therapies such as Yoga and Ayurvedic dietary interventions in improving sleep quality and enhancing overall quality of life. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects and mechanisms underlying these positive outcomes

A Study on Adoption Level of Black Gram VBN 8 among Farmers of Pudukkottai District, Tamil Nadu

Pulses are important in Indian agriculture because of their high protein content (17–25%) compared to grains (6–10%), as well as their capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen and to enhance soil fertility. Black gram (Vigna mungo L.), also known as Urd bean, Urid, or mash, is a major pulse crop. The study on adoption of Black gram VBN 8 was conducted in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu. Out of 13 blocks in the district, three blocks were selected based on the area under black gram VBN 8 cultivation. The data collected were analysed and presented using descriptive statistics. The results of the study revealed that three fifth (60.80%) of the respondents belonged to medium level of adoption category, followed by 20.00 per cent and 19.20 per cent of the respondents in low and high level of adoption categories

Serum β-hcg levels between 12 to 20 weeks of gestation in prediction of hypertensive disordrers of pregnancy

Background: This study was undertaken to study the association of serum β hCG levels between 12 to 20 weeks of gestation and development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and to assess the association between the levels of β hCG and severity of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Study design: Prospective cohort study (200 uncomplicated primigravida).Methods: All women between 12 to 20 weeks of pregnancy meeting the selection criteria, attended antenatal OPD in JIPMER were recruited for this study after informed consent. The venous blood samples were obtained from the subjects for β-hCG analysis. Serum β hCG level was measured by Enzyme Linked Immunoassay System (ELISA) and expressed as mIU/ml. Multiples of median were calculated from the median of the sample population and were considered as raised if it was >2 MOM. The cases were followed up until delivery and observed for development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.Results: Out of 200 cases, 185 cases were followed completely till term. Among 185 cases who were followed up, 10 women developed hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, accounting for 5.4% in the study group. Out of the total 185 women who were studied, 132 had β hCG levels ≤2 MOM and 53 had β hCG levels >2 MOM. Among 132 women (94.7%) with β hCG levels ≤2 MOM, 7 (5.3%) developed hypertensive disorders. Among 53 cases (94.3%) with β hCG levels >2 MOM, 3 women (5.7%) developed hypertensive disorders. The incidence of HDP was almost similar in both the groups, 5.3% among those whose β hCG levels were ≤2MOM and 5.7% among those who had β hCG levels >2 MOM (p value - 0.923).Conclusions: From the present study, it may be concluded that high serum β hCG levels (2 MOM) estimated between 12 to 20 weeks of pregnancy were not predictive of development of hypertensive disorders later in pregnancy.

A comparative study of ovulation induction with clomiphene versus clomiphene and bromocriptine in follicular phase of normoprolactinemic PCOS women

Background: Hypothalamic pituitary axis dysfunction accounts for majority of ovulatory disorders and a predominant cause of women with PCOS. There is a dopaminergic control on gonadotropin secretion. In normoprolactinemic PCOS patients transient rise in serum prolactin can be observed during the late follicular phase and luteal phase. So, the aim of the study is to know the effect of bromocriptine and clomiphene in ovulation induction as compared to clomiphene alone.Methods: Based on the various inclusion and exclusion criteria, seventy patients were randomly assigned into two groups. The patients in the first group were treated with tablet of clomiphene citrate (100 mg) from day 3 to day 7 of each cycle. The patients in the other group received 100mg of clomiphene citrate from day 3 to day 7 of each cycle and tablet bromocriptine (2.5 mg) from day5 to day14. Both groups were followed up with follicular study for three months. At the end of the three cycles the hormonal statuses of the patients were determined.Results: There was no significant difference found in other hormones like serum FSH, LH and estradiol in both groups. The follicular diameter and the average endometrial thickness was increased to a significant level in the CC+Bcrt group as compared to the CC group. The rate of ovulation and pregnancy rate was higher in combination group.Conclusions: Bromocriptine with clomiphene in follicular phase has an advantage of improving follicular diameter, endometrial thickness and hence ovulation and pregnancy rates.

Knowledge, attitude towards human papillomavirus and HPV vaccine among medical students of a tertiary care teaching hospital in India

Background: The objective of the study was to assess the awareness of the human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and vaccination among the young students of a tertiary care teaching hospital.Methods: A cross sectional study was done among the students of a tertiary care teaching hospital. The students were assured of the confidentiality and were provided a questionnaire about HPV infection and HPV vaccine.Results: About 94.3% of students implicated that HPV is a causative agent of cervical cancer and 5.7% students didn’t know about the association. About 72.1% were aware of the availability of the vaccine to be immunized against HPV infection but 3.3% answered wrongly and 24.6% didn’t know about it. Thirty one percent students knew the correct age of initiation of the vaccination, 23% answered wrongly and about 45.9% of the students didn’t know the answer. Only 4.1 % of the students have been vaccinated with HPV vaccine. About 63.9% students didn’t agree to vaccinate themselves against HPV as they felt it would give a false sense of security and 68.8% of the students were against the routine vaccination of the young Indian population against HPV as the sexual exposure occurs at late age. 73% students referred the age of vaccination to be >25 years.Conclusions: Lack of knowledge among medical students can be detrimental to the health of the society. So there is a need to create awareness among the future health educators against various aspects of HPV, cervical cancers and its prevention

Export Competitiveness of Mango in India

India is one of the leading producers of mango in the world, contributing more than half of the global mango supply. India exported 27,872.77 MT of mangoes in 2021–2022. Due to the Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary issues, India's export share in recent years was insignificant. Hence, this study focussed on estimating the export competitiveness of mango from the year 2006 to 2020 for India and major exporting countries. The study analysed the time series data of mango and total agricultural commodity export for India and major competitive countries at world level, which have arrived from Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and UN Comtrade. This have been resulted in positive value where Thailand, Pakistan and Brazil had Revealed Comparative Advantages values greater than one throughout the period. It indicated that, these countries had comparative advantages of mangoes. The RCA value of India was below one. However, by following Good Agricultural practices (GAPs), Indian mangoes might still find a market on a worldwide scale

PSO based optimal distributed generation placement and capacity by considering harmonic limits

Jedinice decentralizirane proizvodnje (DG units) također se nazivaju raspršenom proizvodnjom, decentraliziranom proizvodnjom i ugrađenom proizvodnjom. Uobičajeno su to male elektrane, direktno povezane bilo s distribucijom ili potrošačem. Uspostava decentralizirane proizvodnje na temelju invertera rapidno se povećala zadnjih godina. To može biti rezultat povećane razine sekundarne frekvencije koja može prekoračiti dopušenu razinu harmonijskog izobličenja. Razina prodiranja DG ograničena je harmonijskim izobličenjem zbog nelinearne struje iz DG jedinica na bazi invertera. U ovom je radu određena maksimalna razina penetracije DG, uzimajući u obzir harmonijska ograničenja. Harmonici su određeni pristupom odvojenog harmonijskog protoka snage (DHPF). Ograničenja ovog predloženog problema uključuju jednadžbe balansiranja snage, ograničenja napona sabirnice, ukupne i pojedinačne granice harmonijskog izobličenja specificiranog normom IEEE-519. Problem je riješen primjenom tehnike optimizacije pomoću algoritma optimizacije roja čestica. Rezultati simulacije dobiveni su primjenom MATPOWER/MATLAB u sustavima ispitivanja sabirnice IEEE 30 i IEEE 57, a rezultati dokazuju učinkovitost predloženog pristupa.Distributed Generation (DG) units are also called Dispersed Generation, Decentralized Generation and Embedded Generation. They are normally small generating plants, connected directly to either distribution side or customer side. The installation of inverter-based distributed generation (DG) has increased rapidly in recent years. This higher penetration level may result in the increased level of harmonics, which could exceed the permissible harmonic distortion level. The penetration level of DG is restricted by harmonic distortion, because of the nonlinear current injected by inverter based DG units. In this work, the maximum DG penetration level is determined, by considering the harmonic limits. The harmonics are determined by using the Decoupled Harmonic Power Flow (DHPF) approach. The constraints of this proposed problem include power balance equations, bus voltage limits, total and individual harmonic distortion limits specified by IEEE-519 standard. The problem is solved by using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm based optimization technique. Simulation results are obtained by MATPOWER/MATLAB in IEEE 30 and IEEE 57 bus test systems and the results prove the effectiveness of this proposed approach

Immune indices and identical functions of two prophenoloxidases from the haemolymph of green tiger shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus and its antibiofilm activity

In the present study, we purified two prophenoloxidases (proPO) from haemolymph of green tigershrimp,Penaeus semisulcatusby gel fermentation chromatography using blue Sepharose matrix. The twopurified prophenoloxidase macromolecules are of about 76 and 75 kDa determined through SDS-PAGEand named asPenaeus semisulcatusprophenoloxidase I (PSproPO I) andPenaeus semisulcatusproph-enoloxidase II (PSproPO II). It was further characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier TransformInfrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Circular Dichroism (CD) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography(HPLC) analysis. The purified PSproPO I and PSproPO II showed the strongest agglutination titre againsthuman erythrocytes compared to goat RBC. The PSproPO I and PSproPO II showed phagocytic activityagainst yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeand encapsulation activity against Sepharose CL 6B beadscompared to CM Sepharose and Sodium alginate beads. The functional analysis of purified PSproPO I andPSproPO II showed enhanced PO activity when added with the triggering molecules such as pathogenassociated molecular patterns (PAMPs), metals and chemicals. In addition, eluted fraction containingPSproPO I and PSproPO II showed antibiofilm activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.The above results concluded that no significant differences were found between the purified PSproPO Iand PSproPO II immune indices and functions. This study might provide a sensitive platform to under-stand more about the critical roles of PSproPO I and PSproPO II in crustacean immune syste

Electrodeposition and Capacitive Behavior of Films for Electrodes of Electrochemical Supercapacitors

Polypyrrole films were deposited by anodic electropolymerization on stainless steel substrates from aqueous pyrrole solutions containing sodium salicylate and tiron additives. The deposition yield was studied under galvanostatic conditions. The amount of the deposited material was varied by the variation of deposition time at a constant current density. SEM studies showed the formation of porous films with thicknesses in the range of 0–3 μm. Cyclic voltammetry data for the films tested in 0.5 M Na2SO4 solutions showed capacitive behavior and high specific capacitance (SC) in a voltage window of 0.9 V. The films prepared from pyrrole solutions containing tiron showed better capacitive behavior compared to the films prepared from the solutions containing sodium salicylate. A highest SC of 254 F g−1 was observed for the sample with a specific mass of 89 μg cm−2 at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1. The SC decreased with an increasing film thickness and scan rate. The results indicated that the polypyrrole films deposited on the stainless steel substrates by anodic electropolymerization can be used as electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitors (ES)