Provenance variation in cone, seed and seedling characteristics in natural populations of Pinus wallichiana A.B. Jacks (Blue Pine) in India

Effects of growth hormones, rooting media and leaf size on juvenile stem cuttings of Buchholzia coriacea were investigated. Two hundred and sixteen single node cuttings were obtained from two month old seedlings of Buchholzia coriacea. Half had their leaves reduced, while the remaining retained their original leaf size. Cuttings were treated with indole butyric acid (IBA), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and a combination of the hormones (IBA/NAA), at 0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/l and planted in three rooting media-topsoil, riversand and sawdust giving a factorial design. Cuttings were assessed for percentage survival, number of roots, length of longest root and total root length. ANOVA was carried out on the data collected and LSD at 5% probability level used to compare significantly different means. Survival percentage of 96.3% was recorded. The highest mean values of 3.8 cm and 12.5 cm in root length and total root length were recorded in topsoil. Control had the highest number of roots - 4.8. Leaf size had a highly significant effect on the rooting of the cuttings as whole leaf rooted better than half leaves. Single node cuttings of Buchholzia coriacea is amenable to cloning with or without auxin treatment. </span

INVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL OF AN ANTIDEPRESSANT INTRANASAL MUCOADHESIVE MICROEMULSION

Objective: The main aim of this study was to formulate, develop and optimized a duloxetine hydrochloride (dlx-hcl) loaded mucoadhesive microemulsion intended for intranasal administration.Methods: Established on solubility studies capmul mcm, transcutol-p, labrasol were used as oil, co-surfactant and surfactant respectively. The optimized mucoadhesive microemulsion prepared using water titration method was further characterized for particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential and conductivity measurements followed by drug content, nasal cilio toxicity and biochemical estimation of the selected formulation.Results: All physicochemical parameters conducted, proved that dlx-hcl microemulsion was appropriate for nasal delivery. Chitosan, used as mucoadhesive polymer demonstrated enhanced retention time of the microemulsion in nasal mucosa with no signs of toxicity and epithelial damage. The particle size and zeta potential were found to be of 200 nm and-15 mV respectively considering the formulation safe for nasal delivery.Conclusion: This formulation strategy can be used as an effective targeting technique for the drugs having low bioavailability and poor brain penetration along with an effective method for the treatment long-term disease like depression

Comparative Compositional Analysis and Pesticidal Efficacy of Essential Oils from Leaves of Skimmia Aanquetilia N.P. Taylor and Airy Shaw

The objective of the current study was to re-examine the chemical components of the essential oil (EO) from the aerial parts of Skimmia anquetilia N.P. Taylor &amp; Airy Shaw in two different seasons designated as Skimmia anquetilia rainy season essential oil (SKREO) and Skimmia anquetilia winter season essential oil (SKWEO). The GC-MS analysis of SKREO and SKWEO resulted in the identification of 42 and 48 constituents, comprising of 95.3 % and 95.4 % of the total composition respectively. Both SKREO and SKWEO varied in their chemical composition in terms of quantity viz: linalyl acetate (15.8% - 17.6%), linalool (13.2% - 13.9%), geijerene (11.6% - 11.7%), α-thujene (11.3% - 11.1%), α-terpineol (6.1% - 6.1%), geranyl acetate (5.0% - 5.1%), α-terpinyl acetate (3.3% - 3.1%), myrcene (3.0% - 3.1%), geraniol (2.6% - 1.9%), α-pinene (2.1% - 2.2%), trans-β-ocimene (2.1% - 2.3%), cis-β-ocimene (2.0% - 2.2%) and neryl acetate (2.3% - 2.4%). Besides qualitative differences SKREO and SKWEO, both were studied for their pesticidal activities. The study exhibited potent antifeedant activity against Spodoptera litura and nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita. Based on the present observations, it was found that besides its academic importance, shrub Skimmia anquetilia can be a good source of phytochemicals like linalyl acetate, linalool, geijerene, thujene and can be used for the development of herbal source for antifeedant and nematicidal activity after proper clinical trials

Genetic diversity and population structure of Fusarium fujikuroi causing Bakanae, an emerging disease of rice in India

45-52Bakanae caused by Fusarium fujikuroi (Nirenberg), is emerging as a serious threat for rice (Oryza sativa. L.) cultivation in India. In this study, 63 isolates of Fusarium fujikuroi isolated from symptomatic diseased plants were characterized for their morphology, pathogenicity and molecular variability using universal rice primers (URP). Of the 12 URPs used in the study, 6 primers could produce polymorphic fragments in all the isolates. The URP 17R primer was highly polymorphic (100%), whereas, the URP 1F primer produced 75% polymorphic fragments. A dendrogram obtained from the combined analysis of 6 URP primers categorized the isolates into four clusters, where most of the isolates from Punjab and Haryana were clustered separately. Mating type of the population was identified based on MAT-1 and MAT-2 region universal primers for Gibberella fujikuroi. Among the 63 isolates, 18 (28.57%) were identified as MAT-1 and 45 (71.42%) as MAT-2. The effective population number for mating type was 89% of the total population. Since the distribution frequencies of both mating types were not equal in the Indian population of F. fujikuroi, it could conclude that majority of the multiplication of isolates under field conditions was through asexual reproduction. However, the presence of both mating types in F. fujikuroi indicates that the population is also capable of sexual reproduction. Therefore, it is important to develop cultivars with inbuilt resistance to bakanae disease, taking into consideration the factors such as environmental conditions and variability of the pathogen in the area of intended cultivation

Genetic diversity and population structure of Fusarium fujikuroi causing Bakanae, an emerging disease of rice in India

Bakanae caused by Fusarium fujikuroi (Nirenberg), is emerging as a serious threat for rice (Oryza sativa. L.) cultivation in India. In this study, 63 isolates of Fusarium fujikuroi isolated from symptomatic diseased plants were characterized for their morphology, pathogenicity and molecular variability using universal rice primers (URP). Of the 12 URPs used in the study, 6 primers could produce polymorphic fragments in all the isolates. The URP 17R primer was highly polymorphic (100%), whereas, the URP 1F primer produced 75% polymorphic fragments. A dendrogram obtained from the combined analysis of 6 URP primers categorized the isolates into four clusters, where most of the isolates from Punjab and Haryana were clustered separately. Mating type of the population was identified based on MAT-1 and MAT-2 region universal primers for Gibberella fujikuroi. Among the 63 isolates, 18 (28.57%) were identified as MAT-1 and 45 (71.42%) as MAT-2. The effective population number for mating type was 89% of the total population. Since the distribution frequencies of both mating types were not equal in the Indian population of F. fujikuroi, it could conclude that majority of the multiplication of isolates under field conditions was through asexual reproduction. However, the presence of both mating types in F. fujikuroi indicates that the population is also capable of sexual reproduction. Therefore, it is important to develop cultivars with inbuilt resistance to bakanae disease, taking into consideration the factors such as environmental conditions and variability of the pathogen in the area of intended cultivation

The Uli Dataset: An Exercise in Experience Led Annotation of oGBV

Online gender based violence has grown concomitantly with adoption of the internet and social media. Its effects are worse in the Global majority where many users use social media in languages other than English. The scale and volume of conversations on the internet has necessitated the need for automated detection of hate speech, and more specifically gendered abuse. There is, however, a lack of language specific and contextual data to build such automated tools. In this paper we present a dataset on gendered abuse in three languages- Hindi, Tamil and Indian English. The dataset comprises of tweets annotated along three questions pertaining to the experience of gender abuse, by experts who identify as women or a member of the LGBTQIA community in South Asia. Through this dataset we demonstrate a participatory approach to creating datasets that drive AI systems

Prosthodontic rehabilitation of combined oronasal defect in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma using two different attachments: Two case reports

Debridement of affected parts in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma leads to large mid facial defects leading to poor quality of life due to cosmetic disfigurement and various functional comorbidities. Therefore, a surgeon should refer the patients to a prosthodontist for replacement of lost tissues to improve their function and esthetics. Two cases have been presented here with a history of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma having large, continuous defects involving nose, cheeks, and maxilla. Retaining large facial prosthesis and intraoral obturator was a challenge as supporting hard and soft tissues were less. Two-piece lightweight prostheses were fabricated and retained with the use of very economical titch buttons used (used in clothes) in case 1 due to financial constraints and slightly expensive iron boron neodymium magnets in case 2. Functional and esthetic rehabilitation was successfully achieved with intraoral and facial prostheses attached to each other

Comparative chemical composition and pesticidal evaluation of Acorus calamus accessions collected from different geographical locations

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the phytochemical composition of essential oils (EO) from rhizomes of Acorus calamus collected from Jorhat, Assam; Munsyari and Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India.  EOs were studied for different pesticidal activities viz; nematicidal, insecticidal, and herbicidal activity. To study the synergistic effect of EOs on pesticidal activity, four combinations of EOs were prepared. Phenylpropanoids with β-asarone as the main compound were identified in all collections with varying percentages. Its contribution was found to be 85.8% in Munsyari EOs followed by 74.3% in Pantnagar and 62.6% in Assam collections. All EOs exhibited dose-dependent in vitro nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita in terms of immobility and inhibition of egg hatching. The activity was observed as maximum in the EO combination of all three collections (1:1:1) whereas minimum in the Assam collections. In insecticidal activity against Lipaphis erysimi and Selepa celtis, maximum mortality was observed in Munsyari collections. The oils were assessed for sprout inhibition activity in terms of seed germination inhibition, coleoptile growth of the shoot and root against Raphanus raphanistrum. Maximum seed germination inhibition, % shoot, and root growth inhibition were found in all collections EO combinations. To predict the possible mode of action and the structure-activity relationship between major compounds of EOs and biological activities, in silico molecular docking and ADME/Tox studies were performed. The docking results revealed the mode of action of proteins of insects, nematodes, and weeds and were found in support of in vitro experiments. The study may be helpful for the development of herbal-based pesticides after proper clinical trials

Chemo-profiling of methanolic and ether oleoresins of Salvia coccinea and in vitro pesticidal evaluation with in silico molecular docking and ADME/Tox studies

The objective of the present study was to examine the chemical compositions of Salvia coccinea oleoresins prepared in methanol and petroleum ether. GC-MS analysis of Salvia coccinea methanolic oleoresin (SCMO) and Salvia coccinea ether oleoresin (SCEO) resulted in the identification of 15 and 12 constituents, comprising 84.7 and 81.2% of the total composition, respectively. Both SCMO and SCEO varied in their chemical composition in terms of quantity, namely, oleic acid (22.3-25.9%), palmitic acid (8.9-8.4%), stigmasta-3,5-dien-7-one (3.4-11.8%), stigmasterol acetate (3.5-5.3%), neophytadiene (4.8-1.7%), phytol (1.6-7.8%) and phthalic acid (2.1-3.1%). In addition to the qualitative differences between SCMO and SCEO concomitantly, both oleoresins were examined for their pesticidal activities. Oleoresins demonstrated significant nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita, insecticidal activity against Lipaphis erysimi, antifungal activity against Curvularia lunata, and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. For nematicidal activity, SCMO and SCEO exhibited a high mortality of 65.66±1.69 and 54.33±1.24 and egg hatching inhibition of 26.33±1.20and 33.33±1.24 at 200 μg/mL. Similarly, SCMO and SCEO exhibited excellent insecticidal activity with 94.87±1.44 % and 86.75±1.85 %   mortality at 1000 μg/mL. However, both oleoresins exhibited moderate antifungal and antibacterial activities compared to standards. Due to the quantitative difference in chemical composition and the presence of several phytoconstituents that were absent in SCEO, SCMO displayed stronger pesticidal effects than SCEO. To estimate the binding energy and structure-activity relationships between chemical constituents and pesticidal activities, in silico molecular docking and ADME/Tox studies have also been performed using a web-based online tool. On the basis of the present study, it is inferred that the herb Salvia coccinea might be a good source of phytochemicals and can be used for the development of herbal-based pesticides/formulations after proper clinical trials