Evaluation of antipyretic activity of alcoholic extract of Murraya koenigii leaves in rabbits

Background: The present study was carried out to evaluate the antipyretic activity of alcoholic extract of Murraya koenigii leaves in rabbits by using PGE1 induced hyperpyrexia method. We found that not much work has been done on the antipyretic effect of this plant.Methods: Laboratory breed New Zealand strains of rabbits of either sex weighing 1000-1500 gm were used in the study. The animals were divided into five groups (n=6). The rabbits of all the groups were made febrile by injecting misoprostol (PGE1) subcutaneously in the dose of 100 mcg/kg.  For group 1 and 2, normal saline 2ml/kg as control and aspirin 28mg/kg as standard were given respectively. Alcoholic extract of Murraya koenigii leaves in the doses of 200, 400 and 800mg/kg were administered in remaining three groups respectively. Rectal temperatures were recorded with help of digital thermometer for every 30 min after drug treatment.Results: Alcoholic extract of Murraya koenigii produced highly significant (p<0.001) antipyretic effect in 400 and 800 mg/kg doses. But onset of action was fast with 800mg/kg dose.Conclusions: This study concludes that Alcoholic extract of Murraya koenigii has fast onset of action and also exhibited sustained anti pyretic action in New Zealand rabbits

Analysis of cytology of germ cell tumors with histopathological and serum tumor marker correlation: a tertiary care centre experience

Background: Germ cell tumors are found primarily in children and young adults usually arising from gonads and rarely from extragonadal sites like mediastinum, retroperitoneum, pineal gland and sacrococcygeal region. Involvement of lymphnodes or bodycavities (pleural/peritoneal cavity) is usually associated with metastatic disease.Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 96 cases of germ cell tumor for which a primary diagnosis of germ cell tumor was given by cytology from primary and metastatic sites. The study period is from January 1993- December 2013. Pap stained and Romanowsky stained smears and cell block sections (10cases) were studied. Serum tumor markers (LDH, BetaHCG and AFP) were correlated in all cases along with histopathology in available cases.Results: Among 96 cases 34 were diagnosed as seminoma/dysgerminoma,10 as embryonal carcinoma,9 as yolk sac tumor,6 as teratoma and 2 as mixed germ ell tumor. In 25 cases the cytology report was suggestive of germ cell tumor and in 10 cases malignant cells favouring germ cell tumor. Among the 10 cases the serum markers were high in six of the cases and the clinician after discussing with the pathologist treated them as germ cell tumors. 47 cases had histopathology and it correlated with cytology except in 14 cases which showed no residual neoplasm after chemotherapy. 15 cases expired immediately after the diagnosis or during the course of treatment 12cases were lost to follow up. Rest of the cases have completed the treatment. In our study the serum tumor markers showed a sensitivity of 92.75% and positive predictive value was 71.11%.Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of picking up the diagnosis of germ cell tumors by fine needle aspiration cytology so that patient can get an early diagnosis, effective treatment and a multidisciplinary approach is essential in diagnosing a difficult case of germ cell tumor. Previous history, radiology, clinical features and serum tumor markers all aid in the cytological diagnosis of germ cell tumor

Sillago sihama (Forsskål, 1775)

Body elongated with a pointed snout, upper head profile slightly convex; mouth small and terminal, villiform teeth present in jaws and on vomer; 2 or 3 (usually 2) series of scales on cheeks; a small sharp spine on opercle; gill rakers on lower limb of first arch 7-9. Two dorsal fins; first dorsal fin higher than second and with 11 weak spines and second dorsal fin with 1 spine and 20-23 soft rays; anal fin with 2 spines and 21 or 23 soft rays. Lateral line scales from 66-72. Vertebrae are 34

Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål, 1775)

The body of Lutjanus argentimaculatus is moderately deep (maximum depth 2.5 to 3.1 times in standard length), snout is slightly pointed, pre-orbital bone is relatively broad and is wider than eye diameter. The pre-opercular notch and knob are poorly developed, vomerine tooth patch is crescentshaped without a medial posterior extension and the tongue has a patch of granular teeth

Lutjanus johnii (Bloch, 1792)

This fish is characterized by a large black blotch situated below the anterior dorsal-fin rays, on the upper part of the body. The head is steeply sloped and the pre-orbital width is equal to or larger than the eye diameter. Pre-opercular notch and knob are poorly developed. Scale rows on back parallel to the lateral line. The scales have a dark sport in the centre which gives the overall appearance of horizontal lines on the fish

Marine cage farming of Asian seabass under participatory mode - A success story

Karwar Research Centre of ICAR-CMFRI in association with the Directorate of fisheries, Govt. of Goa identified Polem village ( 14° 54' 21.12" N ; 74° 04' 32.20" E) in south Goa for the cage culture demonstration under the proejct 'National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)'. Awareness programmes were conducted for the fishermen communities in the village regarding the present status of marine fisheries resources of India and future prospects

Training manual on Open sea cage culture

Training manual on Open sea cage cultur

Prebreakdown and Breakdown Behaviour of Low Pour Point Dielectric Liquids Under Negative Lightning Impulse Voltage

In this article, some investigations on the prebreakdown and breakdown phenomena of low pour point insulating liquids under negative lightning impulse (LI) voltage are reported. The tested liquids include mineral oil (MO), a typical synthetic ester (TSE), and two low-pour point synthetic esters. These liquids underwent accelerated thermal aging. The nonaged and aged samples were subjected to LIs using a point-plane electrode arrangement. The discussions are focused on the initiation of partial discharges, propagation of streamers, and breakdown behavior in the nonaged and aged liquids. The investigated parameters include inception voltage, LI breakdown voltage, streamer acceleration voltage, and streamer velocity. The results are supported by the oscillographs of the light activity that is recorded during the discharge process. The prebreakdown phenomenon noticed in the TSE vis-à-vis mineral insulating oil is in line with the existing literature. Importantly, it is noticed that the inception and breakdown voltages of the nonaged low pour point synthetic esters are similar to nonaged MO. In addition, the inception and breakdown voltages of the aged low pour point synthetic esters are noticed to be higher than that of the aged MO. These results add to the arguments in favor of replacing MOs in power transformers

Analysis of Breakdown Voltage of Low Pour Point Synthetic Ester Insulating Liquids under Lightning Impulse Voltage of both Polarities

In this article, lightning impulse breakdown behaviour of two low pour point synthetic ester liquids is presented in comparison to a typical synthetic ester at both positive and negative polarities. Traditional mineral insulating oil has been also considered for reference purposes. A detailed breakdown behaviour analysis of the four test liquids under a non-uniform field (medium gap, point-plane electrode system) and quasi-uniform field (smaller gap, U-plane electrode system) is envisaged. The lightning impulse breakdown measurements based on the source voltage waveforms and light activity during the discharge process are presented. The Weibull breakdown failure rates and streamer velocity during the breakdown of different liquids for all the cases (+/- polarities and both electrode configurations) are reported in support of the discussions. In the case of non-uniform fields, the lightning breakdown voltage of the low pour point liquids is found to be higher than typical synthetic esters and is comparable to mineral oil under both polarities. While in the case of quasi-uniform field, the lightning breakdown voltage of the low pour point liquids is found to be lower than mineral oil and comparable to the typical synthetic ester under both polarities. These findings add to limited knowledge on the application of esters in cold countries and allow insulation designers to estimate the behaviour of the low pour point synthetic ester liquids under lightning conditions