Ethnozoology and entomophagy of Ao tribe in the district of Mokokchung, Nagaland

508-515The Ao Naga tribe inhabiting Mokokchung district of Nagaland, has a rich tradition of entomophagy. This paper explores their traditional knowledge and practice of entomophagy. Information on the mode of collection of the insects, cooking recipes, nutritional knowledge if any, allergies etc. were gathered using a questionnaire along with interviews of village elders, sellers and consumers. Eleven (11) edible insects species were identified out of which a few were found to be available all year-round, while some were reported to be available on a seasonal basis. In the present study, insects from coleoptera (2), hemiptera (3), hymenoptera (2), lepidoptera (3), and orthoptera (1) were identified. One species (Lepidoptera) was identified only to genus level, and another species (Hemiptera), was identified as an edible species for the first time

Ethnozoology and entomophagy of Ao tribe in the district of Mokokchung, Nagaland

The Ao Naga tribe inhabiting Mokokchung district of Nagaland, has a rich tradition of entomophagy. This paper explores their traditional knowledge and practice of entomophagy. Information on the mode of collection of the insects, cooking recipes, nutritional knowledge if any, allergies etc. were gathered using a questionnaire along with interviews of village elders, sellers and consumers. Eleven (11) edible insects species were identified out of which a few were found to be available all year-round, while some were reported to be available on a seasonal basis. In the present study, insects from coleoptera (2), hemiptera (3), hymenoptera (2), lepidoptera (3), and orthoptera (1) were identified. One species (Lepidoptera) was identified only to genus level, and another species (Hemiptera), was identified as an edible species for the first time

Understanding Pathophysiology of Sporadic Parkinson\u27s Disease in Drosophila Model: Potential Opportunities and Notable Limitations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting approximately 1% of the population over age 50. PD is widely accepted as a multifactorial disease with both genetic and environmental contributions. Despite extensive research conducted in the area the precise etiological factors responsible remain elusive. In about 95% Parkinsonism is considered to have a sporadic component. There are currently no established curative, preventative, or disease-modifying interventions, stemming from a poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis. Here lies the importance of animal models. Pharmacological insults cause Parkinsonian like phenotypes in Drosophila, thereby modelling sporadic PD. The pesticides paraquat and rotenone induced oxidative damage causing cluster specific DA neuron loss together with motor deficits. Studies in fly PD model have deciphered that signaling pathways such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K/Akt and target of rapamycin (TOR), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) have been defective. Further, these studies have demonstrated that fruit fly can be a potential model to screen chemical compounds for their neuroprotective efficacy

Parkinson’s Disease: Insights from Drosophila Model

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a medical condition that has been known since ancient times. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting approximately 1% of the population over 50 years. It is characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms. Most of PD cases are sporadic while 5–10% cases are familial. Environment factors such as exposure to pesticides, herbicides and other heavy metals are expected to be the main cause of sporadic form of the disease. Mutation of the susceptible genes such as SNCA, PINK1, PARKIN, DJ1, and others are considered to be the main cause of the familial form of disease. Drosophila offers many advantages for studying human neurodegenerative diseases and their underlying molecular and cellular pathology. Shorter life span; large number of progeny; conserved molecular mechanism(s) among fly, mice and human; availability of many techniques, and tools to manipulate gene expression makes drosophila a potential model system to understand the pathology associated with PD and to unravel underlying molecular mechanism(s) responsible for dopaminergic neurodegeneration in PD—understanding of which will be of potential assistance to develop therapeutic strategies to PD. In the present review, we made an effort to discuss the contribution of fly model to understand pathophysiology of PD, in understanding the biological functions of genes implicated in PD; to understand the gene-environment interaction in PD; and validation of clues that are generated through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in human through fly; further to screen and develop potential therapeutic molecules for PD. In nutshell, fly has been a great model system which has immensely contributed to the biomedical research relating to understand and addressing the pathology of human neurological diseases in general and PD in particular

Fluorescence microscopy-based sensitive method to quantify dopaminergic neurodegeneration in a Drosophila model of Parkinson’s disease

Death of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta of the human brain is the characteristic pathological feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD). On exposure to neurotoxicants, Drosophila too exhibits mobility defects and diminished levels of brain dopamine. In the fly model of sporadic PD, our laboratory has demonstrated that there is no loss of DAergic neuronal number, however, a significant reduction in fluorescence intensity (FI) of secondary antibodies that target the primary antibody-anti-tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Here, we present a sensitive, economical, and repeatable assay to characterize neurodegeneration based on the quantification of FI of the secondary antibody. As the intensity of fluorescence correlates with the amount of TH synthesis, its reduction under PD conditions denotes the depletion in the TH synthesis, suggesting DAergic neuronal dysfunction. Reduction in TH protein synthesis is further confirmed through Bio-Rad Stain-Free Western Blotting. Quantification of brain DA and its metabolites (DOPAC and HVA) using HPLC-ECD further demonstrated the depleted DA level and altered DA metabolism as evident from enhanced DA turnover rate. Together all these PD marker studies suggest that FI quantification is a refined and sensitive method to understand the early stages of DAergic neurodegeneration. FI quantification is performed using ZEN 2012 SP2, a licensed software from Carl Zeiss, Germany. This method will be of good use to biologists, as it with few modifications, can also be implemented to characterize the extent of degeneration of different cell types. Unlike the expensive and cumbersome confocal microscopy, the present method using fluorescence microscopy will be a feasible option for fund-constrained neurobiology laboratories in developing countries

Dopamine - Health and Disease

The chemical basis of human emotions has been an exciting aspect in biology. The ""feel-good chemical"" dopamine (DA) is a hormone and also a neurotransmitter, which performs a critical role in reward and movement control in the brain. DA also performs multiple other functions outside the brain. Regulating unrelated critical biological functions makes this chemical a vital factor for sustaining life in both health and disease. Dopamine - Health and Disease is an endeavour with an objective to understand and appreciate the biological functions of DA in human wellbeing and its potential utility in biomedical research. This effort will supplement scientific and non-scientific communities in stimulating a critical understanding of the biological purpose of ""ticklish"" DA, which eventually supports the human relentless effort to reduce the burden of disease. As the most exciting molecule,dopamine directly impacts day-to-day life. Anyone who has an eye for health and disease-related concepts will find this book a good read

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Not AvailableTo investigate the cytogenetic parameters and characterise the chromosomal banding pattern of Tho-Tho cattle, a breed of indigenous cattle found in the Northeastern states of India were reared for meat purpose. Lymphocyte culture technique was carried out in 28 Tho-Tho cattle and culture was harvested for good metaphase spread. Good metaphase spreads were selected for analysis, such as relative length, centromeric index and arm ratio. Centromeric banding (C-banding) and reverse banding (R-banding) methods were done for detail and better understanding of the chromosome morphology. The chromosome number in Tho-Tho cattle was observed to be 2n = 60 in all complete metaphase. The mean relative length of the autosomal chromosomes varied from 5.48% ± 0.107% to 1.79% ± 0.105% in male and 5.31% ± 0.148% to 1.86% ± 0.055% in female, respectively. The chromosome banding showed C-positive dark band heterochromatin in all the acrocentric autosome. However, in sex chromosome, the Y-chromosome showed negative C-band and also the X-chromosome did not show any stain at the centromeric region. The numbers of R-band pattern were observed to be 490 and 499 band in male and female, respectively. One of the X-chromosome showed light banding pattern, confirming the inactivation during the embryonic development in female. The fundamental chromosome number and banding pattern of Tho-Tho cattle did not vary from the other breed of the Bos indicus. However, it is necessary to start a cytogenetic screening of the Tho-Tho cattle and expand upon more number to be kept at different villages of Nagaland in order to identify animals with chromosomal abnormalities, so that it can be excluded from future breeding strategies for conservation of Tho-Tho genetic resource.Not Availabl