Cradle of Creativity: Strategies for in-situ Conservation of Agro Biodiversity

Given the inter-relationship of different agro ecological sub-systems in any country, success of the strategy of diffusion of varieties invariably adversely affects the conservation of agro biodiversity. At the same time, given the climate change and other fluctuations in the environment, in-situ conservation of agro biodiversity is most essential for future survival of the society. This study is a part of a long term investigation being pursued by the first author about the micro level changes at plot level in the farmers’ fields and their implications for micro policy at national and international level. Same villages were studied in 1988-89 and 2000-02 to look at the degree of erosion of agro biodiversity. In addition, a survey on preferred incentives for in-situ conservation was also conducted among the local communities. The implications of the study for monetary and non-monetary incentives for conservation have been drawn. Different models of incentives for possible action research have been described. There are not too many studies that provide micro level evidence over a decade on the subject. The findings were presented to the national policy makers though actual response in practice so far has been limited.

Paclitaxel delivery by micro/nano encapsulation using layer-by-layer assembly

A novel formulation of paclitaxel (PTX) has been developed by providing multilayer assembly over drug loaded porous CaCO3 microparticles (CaCO3 MP) using combination of biocompatible and biodegradable polyelectrolytes (PE’s). PTX was encapsulated into the nanopores of preformed CaCO3 MP prepared by the co-precipitation method. Infrared (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) provides evidences that PTX has been encapsulated into nanopores of CaCO3 MP and not crystallized on the surface. PTX loaded CaCO3 MP (CaCO3-PTX) was found to be highly stabilized against thermal decomposition as evinced by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) indicating decomposition at 600°C and 250°C for CaCO3-PTX and PTX respectively. The multilayer assembly over CaCO3-PTX was effectuated by alternate deposition of protamine sulfate (PRM) and sodium alginate (SA) using LBL technique followed by subsequent core removal [PTX- (PRM/SA)5]. The pay load efficiency of PTX in this system was found to be 78.98±2.14%. The developed system was further evaluated for surface morphology, size and size distribution, surface charge, core removal and layer-by-layer growth due to sequential adsorption of PE’s. The release data of PTX-(PRM/SA)5 was comparable with marketed formulation of PTX (PTX-M) and CaCO3-PTX when performed in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF pH=7.4). The release profile of PTX-(PRM/SA)5 indicates that PEs based multilayer matrix is capable to provide barrier to PTX release as it has been found to follow first order matrix diffusion kinetics with 64±4.8% release within 24 hrs. The t50% of PTX-M, CaCO3-PTX and PTX-(PRM/SA)5 was found to be 70, 90 and 480 minutes respectively. This alternative delivery system of PTX disguised in the form of LBL assembly could have immense application for the treatment of metastasized mammary glands vis-à-vis existing formulation of PTX which is by and large criticized for having certain toxic excipients to be given parentrally. Moreover, the proposed system provides ample of opportunity to modify the surface for targeted application of PTX.
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Simultaneous immunization with Omp25 and L7/L12 provides protection against brucellosis in mice

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A simple lossy audio coding scheme based on the DWT

This paper proposes a simple scheme for audio coding that does not use perceptual models. The audio coder is based on the discrete wavelet transform to decorrelate signals, computed through the lifting scheme, and followed by Huffman coding. The evaluation of the coding scheme is presented by using some .wav audio test files, coded for different conditions, and also includes subjective evaluation. Experimental results show the compression ratios achieved, the degradation of the signals expressed as values of signal to noise ratio and the changes in spectrum information

Evaluation of biofortified spring wheat genotypes for yield and micronutrients

Advanced wheat genotypes were tested for agronomic as well as grain iron and zinc content traits. The analysis of variance indicated variation for all traits except iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). The grain Fe content ranged from 39-58 mg/kg whereas grain Zn ranged from 32-47 mg/kg among the tested lines. A significant positive correlation (0.45) was observed between grain Fe and Zn content. There was no association between yield and grain Fe and Zn content indicating that improvement in these micronutrients will not have any undesirable affect on yield. The data was further analysed for principal component analysis and genotype by trait association. The first five principal components viz., PC1 (0.3149), PC2 (0.2198), PC3 (0.1461), PC4 (0.10) and PC5 (0.0923) accounted for 0.87 of the total variation. The major traits contributing to the PC1 are days to heading, days to maturity, grain iron content and yield. The cluster analysis revealed significant variation among the tested germplasm thus providing opportunities for increasing the micronutrient content along with yield through hybridization with high micronutrient content lines

Role of immunoturbidimetric plasma fibrin D-dimer test in patients with coronary artery disease as well as ischemic heart disease in emergency medicine

The aim of the present was to assess the value of the ELISA D-dimer (hemostatic marker) assay in patients with coronary artery disease as well as ischemic heart disease presenting to the emergency department with chest pain syndrome. Methods: We measured levels of D-dimers (µg/ml by immunoturbidimetric assay) in 120 patients with angiographically proved CAD, consecutive outpatients with chest pain, arterial fibrillation, acute coronary syndromes and 240 age and sex matched healthy controls. Demographic characteristics were assessed by a standardized questionnaire, and a complete lipid profile was performed for all subjects. In addition to this inflammatory marker C- reactive protein was also measured. Result: The distribution of D-dimer levels skewed to the right, and plasma mean levels were higher in cases than in control (mean: 2.51±3.60 vs .41±.59 µg/ml; p<0.001). In contrast, correlation of D-dimer was found with C-reactive protein (p<0.001) and is higher in cases than controls. Conclusion: Plasma D-dimer levels are strongly and independently associated with the presence of CAD in patients with stable angina. These results support the concept of a contribution of intravascular fibrin to atherothrombogenesis