Conservation of wild silkworm genetic resources through cryopreservation: Standardization of sperm processing

Conservation of the invaluable sericigenous genetic resources is of prime importance with respect to their utilization and improvement for wider exploitation. Conservation of wild silkworms and its applicability in hybridization have limitations due to incompatibility, less amenability, change of behaviour under ex situ conditions, non-synchronization of moth eclosion and difficulties in mating between variables. In view of this, the newer technologies such as cryopreservation and artificial insemination are offering better strategies for preservation of biologically active samples like semen at sub-zero temperature (-196º C) conditions for longer duration. In this context, under standardization of sperms preservation from wild silkworms, two methods of semen collection were scrutinized for obtaining active and viable sperm for cryopreservation and further artificial insemination. Semen collection from the seminal vesicle of freshly emerged male moth and the other from the bursa copulatrix (BC) and spermatheca of the female moth after mating. The sperms in the semen collected from seminal vesicle are in the form of bundles known as eupyrene sperm bundles and apyrene sperms. The morphology and behaviour of these sperm bundles were recorded through microscopic examination. To study the density and motility behaviour of the sperms, sperm bundles were treated with proteolytic enzyme (~2-3µg/ml) to digest the membrane and release the sperms. The density and motility behaviour of sperms in the semen recovered from the BC and spermatheca of female moth after mating were higher compared to those released after digestion of sperm bundles from seminal vesicle of the male moth

Elastic properties of fast ion conducting lithium based borate glasses

Elastic properties of $Li_{2}O-PbO-B_{2}O_{3}$ glasses have been investigated using sound velocity measurements at 10 MHz. Four series of glasses have been investigated with different concentrations of $Li_{2}O$, PbO and $B_{2}O_{3}$. The variations of molar volume have been examined for the influences of $Li_{2}O$ and PbO. The elastic moduli reveal trends in their compositional dependence. The bulk and shear modulus increases monotonically with increase in the concentration of tetrahedral boron which increases network dimensionality. The variation of bulk moduli has also been correlated to the variation in energy densities. The Poisson's ratio found to be insensitive to the concentration of tetrahedral boron in the structure. The experimental Debye temperatures are in good agreement with the expected theoretical values. Experimental observations have been examined in view, the presence of borate network and the possibility of non-negligible participation of lead in network formation

A new approach for understanding ion transport in glasses; example of complex alkali diborate glasses containing lead, bismuth and tellurium oxides

Mechanism of ion transport in glasses continues to be incompletely understood. Several of the theoretical models in vogue fail to rationalize conductivity behaviour when d.c. and a.c. measurements are considered together. While they seem to involve the presence of at least two components in d.c. activation energy, experiments fail to reveal that feature. Further, only minor importance is given to the influence of structure of the glass on the ionic conductivity behaviour. In this paper, we have examined several general aspects of ion transport taking the example of ionically conducting glasses in pseudo binary, yNa(2)B(4)O(7)center dot(1-y) M (a) O (b) (with y = 0 center dot 25-0 center dot 79 and M (a) O (b) = PbO, TeO2 and Bi2O3) system of glasses which have also been recently characterized. Ion transport in them has been studied in detail. We have proposed that non-bridging oxygen (NBO) participation is crucial to the understanding of the observed conductivity behaviour. NBO-BO switching is projected as the first important step in ion transport and alkali ion jump is a subsequent event with a characteristically lower barrier which is, therefore, not observed in any study. All important observations in d.c. and a.c. transport in glasses are found consistent with this model

Ion conductivity and dielectric relaxation behavior in FIC silver based phospho-molybdate glasses

Electrical conductivity and dielectric relaxation studies of silver ion-conducting glasses have been prepared using xAg(2)SO(4)-15Ag(2)O-(90-X)(90P(2)O(5)-10MoO(3)) glass system over a temperature range of 298-353 K and frequencies of 10 Hz to 10 MHz. DC conductivities exhibit Arrhenius behavior over the entire temperature range with a single activation barrier. The ac conductivity behavior of these glasses has been analyzed using single power law; conductivity increases linearly in logarithmic scale with Ag2SO4 concentration. The power law exponent (s) decreases, while stretched exponent (beta) is insensitive to increase of temperature. Scaling behavior has also been carried out using the reduced plots of conductivity and frequency, which suggest that ion transport mechanism remains unaffected at all temperatures and compositions

Ion transport studies in lithium phospho-molybdate glasses containing Cl- ion

Ion conducting glasses in xLiCl-20Li(2)O-(80-x) 0.80P(2)O(5)-0.20MoO(3)] glass system have been prepared over a wide range of composition (X = 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mol%). The electrical conductivity and dielectric relaxation of these glasses were analyzed using impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range of 10 Hz-10 MHz and in the temperature range of 313-353 K. D.c. activation energies extracted from Arrhenius plots using regression analysis, decreases with increasing LiCl mol%. A.c. conductivity data has been fitted to both single and double power law equation with both fixed and variable parameters. The increased conductivity in the present glass system has been correlated with the volume increasing effect and the coordination changes that occur due to structural modification resulting in the creation of non-bridging oxygens (NBO's) of the type O-Mo-O- bonds in the glass network. Dielectric relaxation mechanism in these glasses is analyzed using Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) stretched exponential function and stretched exponent (beta) is found to be insensitive to temperature

Clinical Profile of Suspected and Confirmed H1N1 Influenza Infection in Patients admitted at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical profile and outcomes of adult patients screened and diagnosed with H1N1 influenza infection at a tertiary care hospital in India. Materials and Methods: This retrospective  study was conducted on all adult patients suspected of H1N1 influenza admitted at a teaching hospital during the epidemic period of January-March 2015. Patients were screened and classified into three categories of A, B, and C based on international guidelines. Home confinement was recommended for patients in category A, and subjects in category B received treatment with Oseltamivir capsules. In addition, patients in category C received inpatient treatment with oseltamivir capsules. Results: In total, 695 patients were screened for H1N1 influenza infection during the epidemic, out of whom 380 patients (54.6%) were in category A, 264 (37.9%) were in category B, and 51 (7.3%) were in category C. Throat swabs were collected and examined for 192 ( 27.6%) patients, and 59 ( 8.4%) cases were positive for H1N1 infection. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, close vigilance over the symptoms of patients infected with H1N1 influenza is more important than treatment and screening of suspicious cases during the epidemics of this infection. This is a retrospective cross sectional study. Hence, there were no comparative controls. The limitation of this study is,  thus the lack of control

A cross-sectional observational study of serum parathyroid hormone levels and its relation with severity and duration of heart failure

Background: Congestive Heart Failure is a systemic illnesscharacterized by neuro-endocrine immune system dysregulation, oxidative stress, release of proinflammatory cytokines leading to a catabolic state and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Abnormal elevation of serum PTH leads to excessive intracellularcalcium accumulation in cardiomyocytes leading to myocyte necrosis, replacementfibrosis and contributes to progressive heart failure. Objectives: To study the levels of serum PTH in patients of congestivecardiac failure and to establish the relation of serum PTH with duration and severity of heart failure.Methods: The study was conducted on 50 patients diagnosed to have CCF on the basis of symptoms, clinicalexamination, NYHA grading and 2-D Echocardiography. SerumPTH was measured by chemiluminescence and its correlation with severity and duration of heart failure was analysed statistically. Results: Among the patients studied, 56% of the patients with EF ≤ 35% hadelevated serum PTH levels(Mean: 70.1±14.6 pg/ml, p<0.001). 56% in the NYHA functionalclassification Grade III had elevated serum PTH levels (Mean: 69.8±14.73pg/ml, p<0.001). 60.9% ofpatients with duration of heart failure >2 years had elevated serum PTH levels>72pg/ml (p< 0.001). Conclusion: There was a significant positive correlation ofserum parathyroid hormone levels with the duration and negative correlation withseverity of heart failure as measured by ejection fraction. Therefore, serum PTH levels can be used as an individualprognostic marker to assess the severity of heart failure