Hydro-chemical assessment and groundwater recharge mechanism in the humid tropics: a case study.

The study related to assessment of various chemical constituents in the groundwater, their origin and suitability for human use has been carried out in the Chaliyar river basin of Kerala (India). Groundwater samples were collected from 27 open dug wells and 7 bore wells, and analyzed. Piper tri-linear classification was followed in segregating the data with respect to source of dissolved constituents in groundwater. Most of the wells fall within the no dominant ion zone in the piper diagram, indicating the equal distribution of alkalis and alkaline earths. High level of dissolved solids, with the presence of chloride and sulphate, was observed in a few wells in the coastal region, which may be due to the salinity intrusion from the sea. The groundwater quality was found fairly good and potable in the lateritic midland region, except for a few wells, which were having significant level of nitrate and/or chloride. An attempt has been made to understand the source of groundwater recharge in the basin using environmental tritium as a tracer. It has been observed that the groundwater is predominantly recharged through rainfall, as evidenced from the level of tritium close to that of local precipitation.

Assessment of groundwater quality status in Amini Island of Lakshadweep.

Amini Island is one of the 10 inhabited islands in Lakshadweep. Built on the ancient volcanic formations Lakshadweep is the the tiniest Union Territory of India. The major problem experienced by the islanders is the acute scarcity of fresh drinking water. Groundwater is the only source of fresh water and the availability of the same is very restricted due to peculiar hydrologic, geologic, geomorphic and demographic features. Hence, proper understanding of the groundwater quality, with reference to temporal and spatial variations, is very important to meet the increasing demand and also to formulate future plans for groundwater development. In this context, the assessment of groundwater quality status was carried out in Amini Island. All the available information on water quality, present groundwater usage pattern, etc. was collected and analyzed. Total hardness and salinity are found to be the most critical water quality parameters exceeding the permissible limits of drinking water standards. Spatial variation diagrams of salinity and hardness have been prepared for different seasons. It is also observed from these maps that the salinity and hardness are comparatively better on the lagoon side compared to the seaside. These maps also suggest that the salinity and the hardness problem is more in the southern tip compared to northern portion.

Analytical properties of 1-phenyl-1,2-propanedione-2-oxime thiosemicarbazone: simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) and nickel(II) in edible oils and seeds.

The analytical properties of 1-phenyl-1,2-propanedione-2-oxime thiosemi-carbazone (PPDOT) are described for the first time. The reagent gives colour reactions with copper(II) and nickel(II) in sodium acetate-acetic acid buffer medium. The copper complex shows maximum absorbance at 465 nm while the nickel complex at 395 nm. Therefore, these colour reactions have been advantageously used for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) and nickel(II) in synthetic mixture and also in edible oils and seeds.

Characterization of a MEN1 ortholog from Drosophila melanogaster.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a familial cancer syndrome characterized by tumors of the parathyroid, entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine and pituitary tissues and caused by inactivating mutations in the MEN1 gene. Menin, the 610-amino acid nuclear protein encoded by MEN1, binds to the transcription factor JunD and can repress JunD-induced transcription. We report here the identification of a MEN1 ortholog in Drosophila melanogaster, Menin1, that encodes a 763 amino acid protein sharing 46% identity with human menin. Additionally, 69% of the missense mutations and in-frame deletions reported in MEN1 patients appear in amino acid residues that are identical in the Drosophila and human protein, suggesting the importance of the conserved regions. Drosophila Menin1 gene transcripts use alternative polyadenylation sites resulting in 4.3 and 5-kb messages. The 4.3-kb transcript appears to be largely maternal, while the 5-kb transcript appears mainly zygotic. The binding of Drosophila menin to human JunD or Drosophila Jun could not be demonstrated by the yeast two-hybrid analysis. The identification of the MEN1 ortholog from Drosophila melanogaster will provide an opportunity to utilize Drosophila genetics to enhance our understanding of the function of human menin.

Comparative characterisation of Russell's viper (Daboia/Vipera russelli) venoms from different regions of the Indian peninsula.

Russell's viper (Daboia/Vipera russelli) venom from different regions of India was subjected to chromatographic, electrophoretic, biochemical and immunological analysis. The elution profiles from ion-exchange chromatography and protein banding pattern from SDS-PAGE showed a significant variation in the constituents of venoms. The acidic proteins are found to be predominant in the venoms of eastern and western regions while basic proteins are the major contributors of the northern and southern regional venoms. The major variation of phospholipases A(2) in the venom samples of India may be described as: southern regional venom is rich in basic, toxic PLA(2) while this activity showed a dramatic decrease as one moves towards west, north and eastern regions of India. In addition, the caseinolytic, TAME-hydrolytic, anticoagulant, oedema-inducing and haemorrhagic activities of the venoms have also varied from one region to another. The muscle specimens of mice injected with venoms of different regions showed variable change in the muscle fibre damage and cell morphology. The eastern regional venom is most lethal among all the venoms. The lethal potencies for four regional venoms vary as: eastern>western>southern>northern. The polyclonal antibodies prepared against the venom of southern region showed cross-reaction with the venoms of other regions, but the extent of cross-reaction and diffusion patterns are different. However, the polyclonal antibodies prepared against southern regional venom showed no protection against lethal toxicity of other regional venoms.

Isolation, genomic organization, and expression analysis of Men1, the murine homolog of the MEN1 gene.

The mouse homolog of the human MEN1 gene, which is defective in a dominant familial cancer syndrome, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), has been identified and characterized. The mouse Men1 transcript contains an open reading frame encoding a protein of 611 amino acids which has 97% identity and 98% similarity to human menin. Sequence of the entire Men1 gene (9.3 kb) was assembled, revealing 10 exons, with exon 1 being non-coding; a polymorphic tetranucleotide repeat was located in the 5'- flanking region. The exon-intron organization and the size of the coding exons 2-9 were well conserved between the human and mouse genes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization localized the Men1 gene to mouse Chromosome (Chr) 19, a region known to be syntenic to human Chr 11q13, the locus for the MEN1 gene. Northern analysis indicated two messages-2.7 kb and 3.1 kb-expressed in all stages of the embryo analyzed and in all eight adult tissues tested. The larger transcript differs from the smaller by the inclusion of an unspliced intron 1. Whole-mount in situ hybridization of 10.5-day and 11.5-day embryos showed ubiquitous expression of Men1 RNA. Western analysis with antibodies raised against a conserved C-terminal peptide identified an approximately 67-kDa protein in the lysates of adult mouse brain, kidney, liver, pancreas, and spleen tissues, consistent with the size of human menin. The levels of mouse menin do not appear to fluctuate during the cell cycle.

Standardisation of ayurvedic oils.

In the present study we report some physico-chemical standards for Karpooradi taila which is a medicated oil used for the treatment of "Varrthavikaram". The physicochemical standards and the Thin Layer chromatographic pattern can be used as a finger print standard for Karpooradi taila.

Standardisation of the ayurvedic medicine pindataila.

Pinda Taila is a medicated oil used Ayurveda for vaatharakta, the aim of the present study is to fix physicochemical standards for the above Taila. Though the analytical values can be as preliminary reference standards, these values are mostly related to the purity of the sesame oil, the thin layer chromatography (TLC) studies of the Taila are more useful to detect the presence of single drugs present in panda Taila.

PHARMACOGNOSTICAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES ON WATTAKAKA VOLUBILIS (Linn.f.).

Morphological, anatomical and clinical studies of the leaves of Wattakaka volubilis (Linn.f) were carried out. The taila of this leaf was found to be effective in pyoderma, tinea pedis scabies cuts and wounds and plantar psoriasis.

Cyclea peltata diels - a possible substitute for cissampelos pareira linn.

Chromatographic studies have been carried out on cyclea peltata Diels and Cissampelos pareira Linn. The results substantiate that cyclea peltata Diels can be substituted for cissampelos pareira in ayurvedic formulations.

Standardisation of murivenna and hemajeevanti taila.

'Murivenna' and 'Hemajeevanti Taila' were prepared and their analytical values were reported for standardization. Thin layer chromatography was also done.