Effect of Seed Hydropriming on Seedling Emergence and Growth of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under Adverse Climatic Condition of Drought and Salinity

Aim: Assessment of influence of seed hydropriming in seed and seedling vigour enhancement for stress tolerance in chickpea which is important for successful crop production under erratic climate change causing drought and salinity stress severely affecting the seedling emergence and establishment especially in arid and semi arid regions of the world. Study Design: A three factorial randomised block design was used in the study, involving seed hydropriming treatment, chickpea varieties and growth conditions. Place and Duration of the Study: The experiment was conducted in Department of Seed Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India, during the year 2018. Methodology: Six months old chickpea seeds of variety JG-11 and Annigeri-1 were hydroprimed for 12 hours at 25°C in dark condition. The primed and unprimed control seeds are sown under normal, drought and salinity conditions imposed in pots under controlled conditions. The data recorded were analysed for Analysis of Variance (ANNOVA). Results: The result of the experiment revealed that, upon seed hydropriming an average of 19 per cent increase in seedling emergence and 53.3 per cent increase in seedling vigour index was observed as compared to unprimed control seeds irrespective of variety and the abiotic stress conditions.

Evaluation Of Anticonvulsant Activity Of Ethanolic Extract Of Leaves Of Cajanus Cajan (L) Millsp. In Rodents

Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp. is the perennial plant belongs to family Fabaceae, commonly called as Pigeon pea plant. The presence of phytoconstituents like flavonoids, the flavanone (substituted) from Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp. have in vitro neuroactive property. This flavanone named as pinostrobin helps to inhibit voltage – gated sodium channels. Because of its bioactive phytoconstituents it may act as antiepileptic drug. To avoid problems like ADR herbal plant might be alternative to treat epilepsy. The current study was therefore carried out to evaluate antiepileptic activity of Ethanolic extract of leaves of Cajanus cajan in rodents. The effect of ELECC in MES-induced convulsions in rat and PTZ-induced convulsion in mice was evaluated using doses 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg for 7 days. Phenytoin (25 mg/kg), Diazepam (4 mg/kg) was used as standard drug for respective model. Depending on the model, outcome measures were abolishment of Hind Limb Tonic Extensor phase in MES-induced convulsion in rat and onset of latency, recovery or death in PTZ-induced convulsion in mice as well as biochemical estimation of amino acid neurotransmitter (GABA, Glutamate) were evaluated. The ELECC at doses 100 and 200 mg/kg significantly delayed the HLTE phase in MES-induced convulsions in rat whereas, significantly increased onset of latency in PTZ-induced convulsion in mice. It also showed significant (p>0.0001) effect on the level of GABA and Glutamate in dose dependent manner in both models. The phytochemical study of C. cajan showed the presence of Glycosides, Flavonoids, Flavonones, Steroids, Tannins, Fixed oil, Fatty acids and Proteins. As the flavonoids present in C. cajan may contribute to the anticonvulsant activity of the plant. Therefore, the presence of such compounds in the extract may be responsible for the anticonvulsant effect. Therefore, present study validates its anticonvulsant activity. Further, research is required to elucidate its specific mechanism of action and isolation of responsible active principles.

Peptic Ulcer Healing Activity Of Fruit Pulp Extract And Seed Oil Of Adansonia Digitata Linn

Adansonia digitata (AD) Linn has been used to cure PU in Ayurveda but its efficacy has not been validated. The current study was so carried out to evaluate the antiulcer activity of ethanolic extract of Adansonia digitata fruit pulp (ADFP), n hexane extract of Adansonia digitata seed oil (ADSO) & their combination (ADFP+ADSO) in rats. The effect of AD on gastric ulcer in pylorus ligation induced and ethanol induced models was studied using doses [ADFO (500 mg/kg), ADSO (300 mg/kg) & combination of ADFP & ADSO] for 10 days. Omeprazole (10 mg/kg) were used as the standard drug. Depending on the model, outcomes measures were gastric volume, pH, free acidity, total acidity, ulcer index, percentage inhibition of ulcer index, protein, pepsin, mucus, antioxidant marker enzyme level (Superoxide dismutase, Catalase, Lipid peroxidation), morphological & Histopathological study. The result obtained with combination was set up near to the standard drug and consequence showed that the combination of ADFP & ADSO was found to be more effective than the individual extract of AD. The outcomes were statistically evaluated with the one-way ANOVA followed by the test of Dennett’s‘t’. The secondary-metabolites such as flavonoids, proteins, saponins, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, alkaloids and Fatty acids (palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid) are potent as antioxidant, antiulcer and anti-inflammatory. The finding of this reading confirmed that AD has antiulcer activity due to 1 or more of the secondary-metabolites present in it. Therefore, this study validates its antiulcer use in Ayurveda. Future investigation on separation of specific phytochemicals and elucidate MOA are needed.

Suppurative supraclavicular bacille calmette-guerine lymphadenitis - A case report, awareness and management options.

Diagnosis of Bacille calmette-guerine (BCG) adenitis is clinical. Conventional laboratory tests do not differentiate BCG adenitis from tuberculous adenitis. We report a case of a 3-month-old healthy baby presenting with suppurative BCG adenitis. FNAC revealed AFB on ZN-Staining, later confi rmed to be Mycobacterium bovis by multiplex PCR. The treatment of suppurative BCG adenitis is needle aspiration. Anti-tubercular treatment is unwarranted.

Simultaneous estimation of drotaverine hydrochloride and paracetamol in bulk and tablet dosage form by RP-HPLC method.

A simple, rapid, reproducible, accurate and precise Reverse Phase HPLC method was developed for the quantitative simultaneous estimation of Drotaverine hydrochloride and Paracetamol in combined tablet dosage form. Drotaverine hydrochloride is an analog of papaver and is used mainly as an antispasmodic, smooth muscle relaxant. Paracetamol has analgesic and antipyretic activity. The chromatographic separation of both drugs was achieved with 250 x 4.6 mm, i.d 5 μm C-18 column using Methanol: water pH adjusted to 4.0 with O- Phosphoric acid. (60:40 v/v) at the flow rate of 1ml/min. The measurements were made at 243.0 nm using UV detector. The linearity range was found to be 5-80 μg/ml for Drotaverine hydrochloride and 5-70 μg/ml for Paracetamol. The coefficient of correlation for Drotaverine hydrochloride and Paracetamol was found to be 0.9994 and 0.9990 respectively. The retention time for Drotaverine hydrochloride and Paracetamol were 4.562 min and 8.146 min, respectively. The tailing factor for Drotaverine hydrochloride and Paracetamol was found to be 1.12 and 1.18 respectively. The percent recoveries obtained for Drotaverine hydrochloride and Paracetamol were found to be 99.85 and 99.92 respectively. The relative standard deviation for intraday and interday precision in tablet was always less than 2%. The method was validated for linearity, range, precision, accuracy, specificity, selectivity, intermediate precision, ruggedness, robustness, stability and suitability.

Intestinal myiasis.

Purpose: Intestinal myiasis is a condition when the fly larvae inhabit the gastrointestinal tract and are passed out in faeces. This type of infestation results when eggs or larvae of the fly, deposited on food are inadvertently taken by man. They survive the unfavourable conditions within the gastrointestinal tract and produce disturbances, which may vary from mild to severe. The condition is not uncommon and is often misdiagnosed as pinworm infestation. Correct diagnosis by the clinical microbiologist is important to avoid unnecessary treatment. Materials and Methods: We had 7 cases of intestinal myiasis. In 2 cases the larvae were reared to adult fly in modified meat and sand medium (developed by Udgaonkar). This medium is simple and can be easily prepared in the laboratory. Results: Of the 7 larvae, 5 were Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis, 1 Megaselia species and 1 was identified as Muscina stabulans. Conclusions: S. haemorrhoidalis was the commonest maggot involved. A high index of suspicion is required for clinical diagnosis when the patient complains of passing wriggling worms in faeces for a long period without any response to antihelminthics. The reason for long duration of illness and recurrence of infestation is baffling. The nearest to cure was colonic wash. We feel prevention is of utmost importance, which is to avoid eating food articles with easy access to flies.

Association of platelet count and serological markers of dengue infection- importance of NS1 antigen.

Introduction: Dengue is an acute viral infection with potential fatal complications. Specific antibody detection has been the mainstay of diagnosis which is prone for both false positive and false negative reactions. The newer parameter NS1 appears to be highly specific and reliable for diagnosis of dengue infection from the first day of fever. Platelet count is the only accessory test for diagnosis of dengue infection in the peripheral laboratories. Therefore, we tried to evaluate the association of platelet counts against NS1 and IgM/IgG in dengue infections. Materials and Methods: Serum samples from clinically suspected dengue cases were tested for NS1, IgM and IgG by immunochromatography-based test. Platelet counts were obtained for all positive cases and 150 dengue seronegative cases of fever that served as controls. Test results of dengue-specific parameters were compared against platelet counts. The proportions obtained were compared by Standard error of the difference between the proportions (SEP test). Results: Of 2104 samples tested, 320 were positive for one or more dengue parameters. Of the 320, 95 were positive for NS1 only, 161 showed IgM only while 9 showed IgG only. More than one marker was detected in the remaining 55 samples. Thrombocytopenia was more consistently associated whenever NS1 was detected compared to antibody detection (P value <0.001). Conclusions: Inclusion of NS1 in the diagnosis of dengue increases the detection rate significantly. In cases of fever, thrombocytopenia is more consistently found in dengue positive rather than dengue negative subjects. It correlates well when NS1 and IgM are detected simultaneously.

Prevalence of hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity in Solapur District, Maharashtra State, India.

Background: Hepatitis B virus is a partially double-stranded circular DNA virus and is a member of the Hepadnaviridae family. The virus consists of a core capsid which contains viral DNA and this is surrounded by an envelope containing surface antigen (HBsAg). Both whole, incomplete virus particles, consisting entirely of HBsAg, are produced during replication of HBV. The HBsAg particles vary greatly in morphology and are found in high concentrations in early acute infection and continue to be produced in chronic disease.1 Objectives: Diagnostic potential of Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity and its prevalence was evaluated among volunteers from various localities in Solapur District, Maharashtra State, India. Methodology: The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was studied from Solapur, Maharashtra State, India, among 767 volunteers (male 470 and female 297), aged 05-55 years volunteers, who required medical check-ups. Blood samples, collected during March to May 2010, were tested for HBsAg using a third-generation ELISA kit. Results: Of the 767 volunteers, male 1.82% and female 1.17% were positive for HBsAg. The results revealed that hepatitis B infection in the target group was below the intermediate endemicity. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that proper training of new entrants in the medical field can be pivotal in preventing HBsAg and it is advocated that a programme for education, vaccination and prophylaxis must be implemented in all healthcare set ups.

Accuracy of physical examination in the diagnosis of hypothyroidism: a cross-sectional, double-blind study.

BACKGROUND: Hypothyroidism is a common, potentially treatable endocrine disorder. Since hypothyroidism is not always associated with the signs and symptoms typically attributed to it, the diagnosis is often missed. Conversely, patients with typical signs and symptoms may not have the disease when laboratory tests are performed. AIMS: We aimed to determine the accuracy of physical examination in the diagnosis of hypothyroidism. SETTING AND DESIGN: Prospective, hospital-based, cross-sectional diagnostic study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Consecutive outpatients from the medicine department were screened and an independent comparison of physical signs (coarse skin, puffy face, slow movements, bradycardia, pretibial oedema and ankle reflex) against thyroid hormone assay (TSH and FT4) was performed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Diagnostic accuracy was measured as sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratios, negative likelihood ratios and positive and negative predictive values. RESULTS: Of the 1450 patients screened, 130 patients (102 women and 28 men) underwent both clinical examination and thyroid function tests. Twenty-three patients (18%) were diagnosed to have hypothyroidism by thyroid hormone assays. No single sign could easily discriminate a euthyroid from a hypothyroid patient (range of positive likelihood ratio (LR+) 1.0 to 3.88; range of negative likelihood ratio (LR-): 0.42 to 1.0). No physical sign generated a likelihood ratio large enough to increase the post-test probability significantly. The combination of signs that had the highest likelihood ratios (coarse skin, bradycardia and delayed ankle reflex) was associated with modest accuracy (LR+ 3.75; LR- 0.48). CONCLUSION: Clinicians cannot rely exclusively on physical examination to confirm or rule out hypothyroidism. Patients with suspected hypothyroidism require a diagnostic workup that includes thyroid hormone assays.

Purification of erythrocyte cytochrome P-450 from goat and chick.

Cytochrome P-450 has been purified from goat and chick erythrocytes and characterized. Goat erythrocyte cytochrome P-450 content was higher than that of chick erythrocytes cytochrome P-450. Elution profile of purified protein from DEAE-cellulose column showed a single peak. The catalytic activities of aminopyrine-N-demethylase and acetanilide hydroxylase were found to be higher in purified proteins. Molecular weight was determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.