Effect of gibberrelic acid on á-amylase activity in heat stressed mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) seedlings

High temperature is a serious threat that can alter the number of biochemical processes in plants, which may lead to reduce crop yield. Gibberellic acid (GA3) is a plant growth hormone, responsible for growth, stress tolerance and regulation of many enzymes like amylase. Amylase is responsible for growth by hydrolyzing starch into maltose. This experiment was carried out to study the effect of GA3 on á-amylase activity under heat stress conditions of four genotypes of mung bean (NM 19-19, NM 20-21, NM 121-123 and NCM 89). Seeds were sown in Petri dishes and incubated at different temperatures with and without 100 µM GA3. It was found that the lethal temperature was 50°C when exposed for 2 h and reduced β-amylase activity in all genotypes which increased when a mild temperature (40°C,1 h) prior to lethal temperature was given. The application of GA3 can further alleviate the effect of heat stress by increasing β-amylase activity. Genotypic variations was also observed and activity of amylase and heat stress tolerance index was highest in NM 19-19 and lowest in NM 20-21 for all treatments.Key words: Mung bean, á-amylase, gibberellic acid, heat stress

Nano-confined synthesis of highly ordered mesoporous carbon and its performance as electrode material for electrochemical behavior of riboflavin (vitamin B2) and dopamine

Highly ordered mesoporous carbon (MC) has been synthesized from sucrose, a non-toxic and costeffective source of carbon. X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm and transmission electron micrograph (TEM) were used to characterize the MC. The XRD patterns show the formation of highly ordered mesoporous structures of SBA15 and mesoporous carbon. The N2 adsorptiondesorption isotherms suggest that the MC exhibits a narrow pore-size distribution with high surface area of 1559 m2/g. The potential application of MC as a novel electrode material was investigated using cyclic voltammetry for riboflavin (vitamin B2) and dopamine. MC-modified glassy carbon electrode (MC/GC) shows increase in peak current compared to GC electrode in potassium ferricyanide which clearly suggest that MC/GC possesses larger electrode area (1.8 fold) compared with bare GC electrode. The electrocatalytic behavior of MC/GC was investigated towards the oxidation of riboflavin (vitamin B2) and dopamine using cyclic voltammetry which show larger oxidation current compared to unmodified electrode and thus MC/GC may have the potential to be used as a chemically modified electrode

Molecular characterization and resistance profile of nosocomial Acinetobacter baumannii in intensive care unit of tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh

This study was designed to investigate the resistance profile along with the genetic background of resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics among the nosocomial A. baumannii in Bangladesh. A. baumannii was confirmed by detecting blaOXA-51-like. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion method. Agar dilution method was used to determine MIC of ceftazidime and imipenem. All A. baumannii were phenotypically screened for ampC, ESBL and MBL production. Genetic markers of antibiotic resistance such as blaampC, blaOXA-51, 23, 40, 58 and 143, blaKPC, blaIMP, blaVIM and blaNDM-1, genetic environment around blaADC and ISAba1 upstream of blaOXAs were evaluated by PCR. Twenty-four (96%) A. baumannii were considered as MDR. 96% A. baumannii were resistant to amoxiclav, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin and cefoxitin, 92% to cefotaxime and piperacillin-tazobactam, 88% to cefepime, amikacin and imipenem, 52% to sulbactam-cefoperazone and 40% were resistant to aztreonam. All were sensitive to colistin. The distribution of several beta-lactamase genes such as blaOXA-51 (100%), blaADC-like (92%), blaNDM-1 (92%), EBC group (84%), blaOXA-23 (76%), blaVIM (72%), blaKPC (44%), DHA group (24%), blaOXA-58 (16%), ACC group (8%) and CIT group (4%) were observed among the 25 A. baumannii. This is the first reported plasmid mediated ampC beta-lactamases in A. baumannii. blaOXA-51 was positive in 100%, blaNDM-1 in 95.45%, blaOXA-23 in 77.27%, blaVIM in 72.73%, blaKPC in 50% and blaOXA-58 in 18.18% of imipenem resistant isolates. MDR profile of nosocomial A. baumannii would highlight the importance of standard guideline of antimicrobials use and infection control policy in the hospitals of Bangladesh.</jats:p

Factors associated with intimate partner violence against women in a mega city of South-Asia: multi-centre cross-sectional study

Objectives: To assess the proportion of women subjected to intimate partner violence and the associated factors, and to identify the attitudes of women towards the use of violence by their husbands. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Family practice clinics at a teaching hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Participants: A total of 520 women aged between 16 and 60 years were consecutively approached to participate in the study and interviewed by trained data collectors. Overall, 401 completed questionnaires were available for analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association of various factors of interest. Results: In all, 35% of the women reported being physically abused by their husbands in the last 12 months. Multivariate analysis showed that experiences of violence were independently associated with women\u27s illiteracy (adjusted odds ratio=5.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-19.6), husband\u27s illiteracy (3.9; 1.4-10.7), smoking habit of husbands (3.3; 1.9-5.8), and substance use (3.1; 1.7-5.7). Conclusion: It is imperative that intimate partner violence be considered a major public health concern. It can be prevented through comprehensive, multifaceted, and integrated approaches. The role of education is greatly emphasised in changing the perspectives of individuals and societies against intimate partner violence

Patient’s Perception of Community Pharmacist in North Malabar region of Kerala, India: A questionnaire based study

Pharmacists as vital healthcare professionals play significant role in effective medication management and their use among the patients. However the perception of community pharmacist&nbsp; among the public needs to be assessed for effective role and further patient care. This questionnaire based study was aimed to identify the perception of patients towards the community pharmacist in north Malabar region of Kerala, India. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions with sections evaluating the demographic details (age, sex, marital status, education level &amp; occupation) and the perception of patients towards the community pharmacist. The results were prepared based upon the responses obtained from 110 patients. The study respondents consisted of 51 (46.36%) adults (18-59 years) and 59 (53.63%) geriatrics (above 60 years). Based on their education level, 9 (8.18%), 35 (31.81%) and 66 (60%) participants were illiterate, secondary school and graduate holders respectively. The respondents of the study informed that the pharmacist enquired about their past medication history (58, 52.73%), any allergic reactions (21, 19.1%) and use of any herbal medication (31, 28.18%) prior to the dispensing process. The patients also responded that proper advice regarding dosage (90%), side effects (25%), storage (12%), healthy eating &amp; exercise (10%) were also provided by the concerned pharmacist. As a matter of fact, 91 out of 110 patients thought the pharmacist service were good, 17 thought they were fairly good and 2 were of the opinion that it was poor. The pharmacy rating was evaluated as good by 32 (29.09%), fairly good by 78 (70.90%) and no respondents were of opinion that the pharmacy was poor in its service. Through this study, we found that the overall perception of patients towards the pharmacist in concerned community pharmacy setting was good. To further improvise their role, continued pharmacy education programmes, better communication skills and good professional training must be imparted among the community pharmacists

The appendage role of insect disco genes and possible implications on the evolution of the maggot larval form

AbstractThough initially identified as necessary for neural migration, Disconnected and its partially redundant paralog, Disco-related, are required for proper head segment identity during Drosophila embryogenesis. Here, we present evidence that these genes are also required for proper ventral appendage development during development of the adult fly, where they specify medial to distal appendage development. Cells lacking the disco genes cannot contribute to the medial and distal portions of ventral appendages. Further, ectopic disco transforms dorsal appendages toward ventral fates; in wing discs, the medial and distal leg development pathways are activated. Interestingly, this appendage role is conserved in the red flour beetle, Tribolium (where legs develop during embryogenesis), yet in the beetle we found no evidence for a head segmentation role. The lack of an embryonic head specification role in Tribolium could be interpreted as a loss of the head segmentation function in Tribolium or gain of this function during evolution of flies. However, we suggest an alternative explanation. We propose that the disco genes always function as appendage factors, but their appendage nature is masked during Drosophila embryogenesis due to the reduction of limb fields in the maggot style Drosophila larva

Study to assess the prevalence of human leukocyte antigen-A*3101 allele among Indian epileptic patients and its influence on safety and efficacy of antiepileptic therapy

Background: The objective was to study the prevalence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*3101 allele among epileptic patients and to assess the safety and efficacy of antiepileptic therapy.Methods: 295 subjects were selected and divided into two groups, Group I had 192 epileptic patients and Group II had 103 normal healthy controls. After written informed consent, 30 ml of mouthwash sample was collected from each subject and DNA was extracted by standard salting-out technique and used for HLA-A*3101 genotyping by two-step nested allele-specific polymerase chain reaction amplification and agarose gel electrophoresis.Results: In Group I, 12 (6.25%) of the 192 patients were tested positive for HLA-A*3101 allele and all were taking carbamazepine (CBZ). Among them, 56 (30%) subjects had developed less severe adverse effects such as headache and giddiness, skin rashes and memory disturbances, and HLA-A*3101 was present in 8 of them while 136 had no adverse effects in which 4 of them were tested positive for the allele. In Group II, 3 (2.9%) of the 103 healthy controls were tested positive for the allele. No difference was found in response to antiepileptic therapy between allele positive and negative patients.Conclusion: The present study had shown that HLA-A*3101 is prevalent in 6.25% of the Indian epileptic population under study. The presence of this allele has a significant association with the development of mild cutaneous reactions like skin rashes. However, no difference was observed in allele positive patients in response to antiepileptic therapy in comparison with allele negative patients

Fecundity of three species of Penaeid shrimps, Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798), Penaeus indicus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1837) and Penaeus japonicus (Bate, 1888) of Karachi coast, Pakistan

In order to define the period of maturity of penaeid shrimps at least three indices (fecundity, size structure and density of mature females) are required. During the present study the relationships between fecundity and total length, carapace length, ovary length, body weight and ovary weight of three species of Penaeid shrimps, Penaeus (Fenneropenaeus) indicus, Penaeus (Marsupenaeus) japonicus and Penaeus (Penaeus) monodon were found out. Samples of shrimps were collected from fish market, identified to the species level, morphometric measurements of each individual were recorded and the fecundity of each developed shrimp was estimated. The relationship between body weight and fecundity and between body length and fecundity were linear in all three species. The result indicated positive strong correlation between total length (size) and fecundity in all three species. Positive strong correlations were observed between carapace length and the fecundity, ovary length and fecundity,body weight and fecundity and ovary weight and fecundity in P. indicus and P. monodon while Penaeus japonicus showed moderate positive correlations between all mentioned morphometric parameters and fecundity. There was a strong correlation between fecundity and body length in Penaeus japonicus (r =0.880), fecundity and ovary weight in Penaeus indicus (r = 0.943) and fecundity and carapace length in Penaeus monodon (r = 0.970). The estimated fecundity of Penaeus indicus varied between 989073.36 to 1380581.565 eggs for body length range 14.4 to 20.1 cm while that of Penaeus japonicus varied between 249602.2609 to 320026.71 eggs for length range 15.4 to 19.4 cm and fecundity of Penaeus monodon, with body length range 14.4 to 21.1 cm, varied between 221271.6 to 400296.288 eggs

Diversity analysis of sesame germplasm using DIVA-GIS

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) was studied for its distribution and diversity in India using DIVAGIS. Grid maps were generated for diversity analysis of the eight quantitative traits viz., plant height, inter-node length, leaves per plant, number of flowers per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, seed weight and seed yield. The results indicated that diverse accessions for all these traits can be sourced from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (partly covering Chattisgarh) states and these states are diversity rich pockets for sesame germplasm in India. &nbsp

Diversity analysis of sesame germplasm using DIVA-GIS

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) was studied for its distribution and diversity in India using DIVAGIS. Grid maps were generated for diversity analysis of the eight quantitative traits viz., plant height, inter-node length, leaves per plant, number of flowers per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, seed weight and seed yield. The results indicated that diverse accessions for all these traits can be sourced from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (partly covering Chattisgarh) states and these states are diversity rich pockets for sesame germplasm in India. &nbsp