Genotyping of β-Lactoglobulin gene by PCR-RFLP in Sahiwal and Tharparkar cattle breeds

BACKGROUND: Improvement of efficiency and economic returns is an important goal in dairy farming, as in any agricultural enterprise. The primary goal of dairy industry has been to identify an efficient and economical way of increasing milk production and its constituents without increasing the size of the dairy herd. Selection of animals with desirable genotypes and mating them to produce the next generation has been the basis of livestock improvement and this would continue to remain the same in the coming years. The use of polymorphic genes as detectable molecular markers is a promising alternative to the current methods of trait selection once these genes are proven to be associated with traits of interest in animals. The point mutations in exon IV of bovine β-Lactoglobulin gene determine two allelic variants A and B. These variants were distinguished by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis in two indigenous Bos indicus breeds viz. Sahiwal and Tharparkar cattle. DNA samples (228 in Sahiwal and 86 in Tharparkar) were analyzed for allelic variants of β-Lactoglobulin gene. Polymorphism was detected by digestion of PCR amplified products with Hae III enzyme, and separation on 12% non-denaturing gels and resolved by silver staining. RESULTS: The allele B of β-Lactoglobulin occurred at a higher frequency than the allele A in both Sahiwal and Tharparkar breeds. The genotypic frequencies of AA, AB, and BB in Sahiwal and Tharparkar breeds were 0.031, 0.276, 0.693 and 0.023, 0.733, 0.244 respectively. Frequencies of A and B alleles were 0.17 and 0.83, and 0.39 and 0.61 in Sahiwal and Tharparkar breeds respectively. The Chi-square test results (at one degree of freedom at one per cent level) revealed that the Tharparkar population was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium as there was a continuous migration of animals in the herd studied, where as, the results are not significant for the Sahiwal population. CONCLUSION: Genotype frequencies of AA were the lowest compared to that of BB genotype in Sahiwal cattle while AB genotypes were more frequent in Tharparkar cattle. The frequency of A allele was found to be lower than that of B allele in both the breeds studied. These results further confirm that Bos indicus cattle are predominantly of β-Lactoglobulin B type than Bos taurus breeds

Development of sorghum populations for resistance to Striga hermonthica in the Nigerian Sudan Savanna

Six elite sorghum varieties, ICSV 111, ICSV 400, KSV 4, Gaya Early, CS 54, and CS 95 were used to improve Striga resistance through pedigree breeding. SRN 39 and IS 9830 varieties were confirmed resistant to Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth in field trials. The two Striga resistance lines were crossed with the six elite varieties. Three hundred and sixty Striga-free plants from F2s of good agronomic traits were identified, and selfed to produce F3s. The number of selections varied from 12 (ICSV 400 x IS 9830) to 59 (ICSV 400 x SRN 39) per F2 population. About 50% more plants were selected from the crosses involving SRN 39 as donor parent for Striga resistance than the crosses involving IS 9830. In addition, 58 out of the 100 plants selected were from a cross, ICSV 111 and SRN 39. Crosses from which Striga free plants were obtained were CS 54 x SRN 39 (12 plants selected), CS 95 x SRN 39 (9), ICSV 400 x SRN 39 (6), Gaya Early x IS 9830 (6), Gaya early x SRN 39 (5), and KSV 4 x IS 9830 (4). Crop syndrome reaction score was higher in 1995 (2.3 - 4.0) than in 1996 (1.0 - 2.7). Our results suggest that SRN 39 is a better donor parent for Striga resistance than IS 9830. ICSV 00090 NG, a cross between ICSV 111 and SRN 39 gave the highest grain yield of 2.02 t/ha in a replicated trial compared to the two parents, ICSV 111 (1.11 t/ha) and SRN 39 (0.86 t/ha). This variety combines potential for high yield and resistance to Striga. Our data indicates that the elite varieties can be improved for Striga resistance using pedigree breeding. A large F2 population (500 to 1000 plants per cross) is recommended for the selection of transgressive segregants. Further efforts are required to back cross-promising segregants with established Striga resistant variety in order to develop durable Striga resistant varieties with acceptable agronomic traits. Key words. Sorghum, Striga hermonthica, parasitic weed, resistance. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(6) 2004: 324-32

ON THE RAMAN SPECTRA OF DIFFERENT MODlFlCATlONS OF A FEW CRYSTALS

This paper deals with the raman spectra of different modifications of crystals.@IAC

In vivo Evaluation Of Antidiarrhoeal Activity Of Rhus semialata Fruit Extract In Rats

Rhus semialata Murr. (Anacardiaceae) is a deciduous tree of north eastern India. The fruit of this plant is traditionally used to control diarrhoea and dysentery. The Present study was undertaken to evaluate anti-diarrhoeal potency of methanol extract of fruits of Rhus semialata using Wister albino rats to substantiate folklore claims. The extract at graded doses (100, 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg body weight) was investigated for anti-diarrhoeal activity in term of reduction in the rate of defecation in castor oil induced diarrhoea. To understand the mechanism of its antidiarrhoeal activity, the gastrointestinal transit and PGE2-induced intestinal fluid accumulation (enteropooling) were further evaluated. At graded doses, the extract showed a remarkable anti-diarrhoeal activity evidenced by the reduction in the rate of defecation up to 80.70 % of control diarrhoeal animals at the dose of 600 mg/kg body weight. Results are comparable to that of standard drug diphenoxylate (50 mg/kg body weight). Extract produced profound decrease in intestinal transit (8.02 – 47.05 %) at selected doses comparable to that of single intraperitoneal injection of standard drug atropine sulphate at doses of 0.1 mg/kg body weight. It significantly inhibited PGE2 - induced enteropooling (21.98 – 56.03 %). The results indicated that the methanol extract of the fruits of R. semialata possesses significant anti-diarrhoeal effect and substantiated the use of this herbal remedy as a non-specific treatment for diarrhoea in folk medicine. Keywords: Atropin sulphate, Castor oil, Diarrhoea, Diphenoxylate, Rhus semialata. African Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Vol. 5 (1) 2008: pp. 97-10

Pediatric carcinoma of rectum - Varanasi experience

Background : Primary gastrointestinal system malignancies constitute approximately 2% of pediatric neoplasm and of these; colorectal carcinoma is the second most common malignancy. This is one of the rarer diseases in children. Aim : We reviewed our records to study the clinical features, outcome and the follow-up of this condition with evaluation of the prognostic factors. Settings and Design: Tertiary care Pediatric Surgery centre. Retrospective study. Materials and Methods : The data of all patients with diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma from January 1986 to January 2006 were reviewed. The confirmation of the diagnosis was by biopsy from the lesion. The age, sex, family history, clinical features, response to the treatment and follow-up were studied. Results : There were four male patients. All had bleeding per rectum as the presenting complaint. Three patients had advanced disease at presentation. All the patients had signet cell adenocarcinoma. The two patients expired and one was lost to follow-up. One patient is alive after one year of follow up and is receiving treatment. Conclusion : Colorectal cancer in children though rare can be a reality, hence any children presenting with pain in abdomen along with doubtful history of constipation and rectal bleeding should be examined carefully with special emphasis on digital rectal examination

Chronic renal insufficiency among Asian Indians with type 2 diabetes: I. Role of RAAS gene polymorphisms

BACKGROUND: Renal failure in diabetes is mediated by multiple pathways. Experimental and clinical evidences suggest that renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has a crucial role in diabetic kidney disease. A relationship between the RAAS genotypes and chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) among type 2 diabetes subjects has therefore been speculated. We investigated the contribution of selected RAAS gene polymorphisms to CRI among type 2 diabetic Asian Indian subjects. METHODS: Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from six genes namely-renin (REN), angiotensinogen (ATG), angiotensin converting enzyme I (ACE), angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) and aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) gene from the RAAS pathway and one from chymase pathway were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and tested for their association with diabetic CRI using a case-control approach. Successive cases presenting to study centres with type 2 diabetes of ≥2 years duration and moderate CRI diagnosed by serum creatinine ≥3 mg/dl after exclusion of non-diabetic causes of CRI (n = 196) were compared with diabetes subjects with no evidence of renal disease (n = 225). Logistic regression analysis was carried out to correlate various clinical parameters with genotypes, and to study pair wise interactions between SNPs of different genes. RESULTS: Of the 12 SNPs genotyped, Glu53Stop in AGT and A>T (-777) in AT1 genes, were monomorphic and not included for further analysis. We observed a highly significant association of Met235Thr SNP in angiotensinogen gene with CRI (O.R. 2.68, 95%CI: 2.01–3.57 for Thr allele, O.R. 2.94, 95%CI: 1.88–4.59 for Thr/Thr genotype and O.R. 2.68, 95%CI: 1.97–3.64 for ACC haplotype). A significant allelic and genotypic association of T>C (-344) SNP in aldosterone synthase gene (O.R. 1.57, 95%CI: 1.16–2.14 and O.R. 1.81, 95%CI: 1.21–2.71 respectively), and genotypic association of GA genotype of G>A (-1903) in chymase gene (O.R. 2.06, 95%CI: 1.34–3.17) were also observed. CONCLUSION: SNPs Met235Thr in angiotensinogen, T>C (-344) in aldosterone synthase, and G>A (-1903) in chymase genes are significantly associated with diabetic chronic renal insufficiency in Indian patients and warrant replication in larger sample sets. Use of such markers for prediction of susceptibility to diabetes specific renal disease in the ethnically Indian population appears promising

Pearls and Pitfalls in Diagnosing Pediatric Urinary Bladder Masses

Urinary bladder masses are rare in children, and the associated histologic features and prognoses in this population are different from those in adults. Most children with urinary bladder masses present with lower urinary tract symptoms, which may include hematuria, dysuria, frequent urination, and urgency to urinate. However, some of these masses may be identified incidentally or involve generic symptoms such as abdominal distention. In general, pediatric bladder tumors can be divided into those that originate from the bladder epithelium, known as urothelial neoplasms, and mesenchymal bladder neoplasms, which are more prevalent. The most common bladder malignancy in children is a rhabdomyosarcoma, whereas the most common benign bladder lesion in the pediatric population is a papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential (PUNLMP). The first-line imaging tool for assessing bladder lesions is ultrasonography, which may be followed by a cross-sectional imaging examination such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging if the origin of the mass is unclear or if distant spread is suspected. Although imaging may enable the radiologist to suggest a differential diagnosis based on lesion location and patient age, tissue biopsy generally is required to identify the exact pathologic entity. This is usually performed at cystoscopy and may be curative in cases in which the lesion is small and has low recurrence potential. Knowledge of the clinical, histopathologic, and imaging features of common bladder neoplasms is essential, as it can aid in preventing imaging pitfalls. These may include the misinterpretation of either a pelvic mass as arising from the bladder or a bladder mass as arising from the pelvis, and interpreting an inflammatory mass or bladder detritus as a neoplasm