Studies on seasonal and topographical variations of periphyton in the rivers of Manipur.

Seasonal and topographical variations of abundance and quality composition of periphyton at up and down stream of Imphal, Thoubal and Khuga rivers were studied from 1999-2002. It was found that periphyton population was high (3,055-53,450 u cm-2) and fluctuated in a wide range. Upper stretches (3053-53,450 u cm-2) of the rivers have higher periphyton population and showed definite seasonal fluctuation than the middle and lower stretches (3,276-16,320 u cm-2). Species richness was also higher in upper stretches in comparison to lower stretches of all the rivers. Bacillariophyceae dominated the periphyton population and contribution of Cyanophyceae was nominal. Shannon and Weaver species diversity index was within the favorable range and evenness value for all the rivers were near unity and reflected a stable and unpolluted aquatic environment of the rivers.

Socio-economic status of the fisher folk of upper Bahmaputra River: A case study in Jankhana Village of Jorhat District.

The fisher folk are belongs to schedule cast community. They are known as Koibotra community in Assam. The total 50 families of the village were surveyed during the study. The results reveal that total number of population of the village was 210; 61.90 % (literate) and 38.1% (Illiterate). Among the literate population, 51.53 % have upto primary, 33.84 % up to middle school, 11.53 % up to matriculation and only 3.07 % of the fisherman was found to be higher degree. The peoples were in different services such as agriculture (23.81 %), fishing (28.1 %), business (19.52 %), service (15.24 %) and labour (13.33 %). Again, 90% people were lived in the kachcha house and remaining (10 %) in pukka house while, per month income was found to be lowest (Rs. 500-1000) in the age of 20-30 and highest (1500- 4000) in the age of 50-60 group. The overall fish production of the beel was 1757 kg/yr. Out of these productions, miscellaneous was found to be maximum (679 kg/yr) with 38.65% while feather back was minimum (218 kg/yr) with 12.41%. Production of carp was lowest but production of small fishes was highest. All the villagers were not only confined in fishing but also in different occupation, because of reducing fish production in the beels due to overexploitation, siltation, human activities etc.

Neuro-cognitive functions in patients of major depression.

Earlier studies have shown conflicting results regarding impairment of executive functions in patients of major depression. In the present study, subjects were divided into following groups-Group 1 (19 Males & 11 females, age 18-45 years) consisting of patients of major depression diagnosed on the basis of DSM IV criteria and Group 2 (20 Males & 10 females, age 18-45 years) consisting of healthy subjects who had been screened for any sub-psychiatric illness by standardized hindi version of Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (G.H.Q.). All the Group 1 & Group 2 subjects were rated on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and then administered Neuro-cognitive test battery consisting of Letter Cancellation test, Trail Making test 'A' & 'B', Ruff Figural Fluency test, Forward & Reverse Digit Span test for assessing following cognitive domains: Attention span, visuo-motor scanning, short term memory and executive functions like working memory, information manipulation, set-shifting strategy analysis etc. Results showed significant impairment on all the studied neuro-cognitive parameters in Group 1 subjects as compared to Group 2 subjects, which demonstrate significant impairment of attention, visuomotor speed, immediate verbal memory, short-term retentive capacity and executive functions (strategic planning, attentional set shifting and working memory) in patients of major depression. It may probably be due to the disruption of dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlpfc) and orbito-frontal networks in patients of major depression.

Effect of Sahaj Yoga on neuro-cognitive functions in patients suffering from major depression.

Cognitive functions are impaired in Major Depression. Studies on the effects of Yoga on cognitive functions have shown improvement in memory, vigilance and anxiety levels. 30 patients suffering from Major depression (age 18 to 45 years) were randomly divided into two groups: Group 1: (10 males and 5 Females) Patients who practised Sahaj Yoga meditation and also received conventional anti-depressant medication. Group 2: (9 males and 6 Females) Patients who only received conventional antidepressant medication. Group 1 patients were administered Sahaj Yoga practice for 8 weeks. Neuro-cognitive test battery consisting of Letter cancellation test (LCT), Trail making test 'A' (TTA), Trail making test 'B' (TTB), Ruff figural fluency test (RFFT), Forward digit span (FDS) & Reverse digit span test (RDS) was used to assess following cognitive domains: Attention span, visuo-motor speed, short-term memory, working memory and executive functions. After 8 weeks, both Group 1 and Group 2 subjects showed significant improvement in LCT, TTA & TTB but improvement in LCT was more marked in Group 1 subjects. Also, there was significant improvement in RDS scores in only Group 1 subjects (P < 0.05). The results thereby, demonstrate that Sahaj Yoga practice in addition to the improvement in various other cognitive domains seen with conventional anti-depressants, can lead to additional improvement in executive functions like manipulation of information in the verbal working memory and added improvement in attention span and visuo-motor speed of the depressives.

Inhibition of microsomal activation of aflatoxin B1 by 3-dehydroretinol and 3-dehydroretinyl palmitate.

Two vitamin A2 compounds (3-dehydroretinol and 3-dehydroretinyl palmitate) which are predominantly present in fresh water fish have been found to be very effective in inhibiting the microsome catalysed formation of DNA adduct by the carcinogen aflatoxin B1. The inhibition appears to be due to modulation of microsomal enzymes which activate the carcinogen. Such inhibition may suggest a potential chemopreventive role of these compounds against carcinogenesis induced by aflatoxin B1.