Identification of compatible bacterial and fungal isolate and their effectiveness against plant disease.

Forty-three isolates of Trichoderma spp. and forty isolates of bacterial (fluorescent pseudomonads) biocontrol agents were isolated and evaluated for their relative biocontrol potential and thereafter development of mixed formulation of efficient compatible fungal and bacterial bio-agents. Different isolates of either Trichoderma or Pseudomonas exhibited differential antagonistic activity with different species of tested pathogens. Pseudomonas in general, suppressed the growth of Trichoderma under in-vitro conditions however, a few combinations were found compatible. Fungal isolate PBAT-43 (T. harzianum) and bacterial isolate PBAP-27 (P. fluorescens) emerged as most compatible and efficient and therefore were used for development of mixed formulation. Individual and mixed formulations were evaluated for their relative bio-efficacy under glass-house and field conditions. Mixed formulation exhibited increase in seed germination ranges from 25.5 - 72.11 % and disease control 47.68- 76.00 % in different crops as compared to control. Application of compatible mixture of fungal and bacterial bio-control agents possessing various mechanism of pathogen suppression is suggested as a reliable and potential means of disease suppression.

A dose verification method for high-dose-rate brachytherapy treatment plans.

AIM: To evolve a fast dose verification method for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment plans and to demonstrate its applicability in different clinical cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed a software tool in VC++ for the Varisource HDR unit for HDR dosimetry plan verification using TG-43 parameters. HDR treatment dosimetry of a number clinical cases using Varisource was verified by comparison with the treatment planning system (TPS). RESULTS: A number of different types of clinical cases treated by Varisource were evaluated. TPS calculated dose values and verification code calculated dose values were found to agree to within 3% for most of the dose calculation points. CONCLUSIONS: We have validated with clinical cases a fast and independent dose verification method of the dosimetry at selected points for HDR brachytherapy treatments plan using TG-43 parameters. This can be used for the verification of the TPS calculated dose at various points. The code is written to work with Varisource, but it can conceivably be modified for other sources also by using the fitted constant of the respective source.

Neonatal hyperekplexia: the Stiff-Baby syndrome.

Neonatal hyperekplexia is a rare autosomal dominant startle disorder. Presenting soon after birth, it is often mistakenly diagnosed as spastic quadriparesis, epilepsy etc. While the long-term prognosis is relatively benign, sudden death due to severe spasms have been seen in sporadic cases. We report a case of hyperekplexia with some typical and some unusual findings.

Morphine-like activity of substituted amides & imides of [D-Ala2, Met5]-enkephalin.

Six enkephalin analogues (N-substituted amides and imides of [D-Ala2, Met5]-enkephalin) were synthesized and tested for opioid activity. All the compounds, except one i.e., compound IV, showed analgesic activity which was much higher than Met-enkephalin and morphine in mice and inhibited electrically induced contractions of isolated guineapig ileum, [D-Ala2, Met5]-enkephalin-morpholide and [D-Ala2, Met5]-enkephalin-beta-Ala-amide were the most potent analgesics and nearly 6 and 500 times as active as morphine and Met-enkephalin respectively. Both the compounds were equipotent on the guineapig ileum preparation, whereas the beta-Ala-amide was about twice as active as the morpholide in the electrically stimulated mouse vas deferens preparation.