Brucellosis in migratory sheep flock from Maharashtra,India

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease worldwide distributed and having the economic as well as public health importance. The prevalence of brucellosis among sheep flock having history of abortions was studied. A total of 229 samples comprising of 157 blood and 72 clinical samples (vaginal swabs) were collected from 157 animals. Clinical samples were processed for the isolation of Brucella melitensis. Serum samples (n = 157) were tested by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and i-ELISA. A total of 68 (43.31%) and 104 (66.24%) samples were positive by RBPT and ELISA, respectively. Brucella isolates (n = 2) were recovered from clinical samples. Both isolates demonstrated amplification for bcsp 31 and IS711 genes. On AMOS PCR, both the isolates amplified at 731 bp, i.e., belongs to B. melitensis species. The incidence of B. melitensis in a migratory flock warns the thorough testing and culling of Brucella-infected sheep from the flock on a continuous basis; otherwise, such incidence will be routine and poor farmers will be at a loss.     

Retrobulbar respiratory epithelial orbital cyst in a dog: A case report

A 10-month-old female, neutered French Bulldog presented with a history of unilateral right-sided intermittent conjunctivitis and exophthalmos. The patient suffered blunt force trauma to the right eye after a tennis ball impact approximately five months prior to presentation. Examination identified the patient was visual with exophthalmos, lateral strabismus, conjunctival hyperaemia, episcleral congestion, and papilloedema. Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography identified an approximately two centimeter diameter fluid-filled structure directly posterior to the globe leading to displacement of the optic nerve and distortion of the posterior globe wall. Centesis of the lesion demonstrated neutrophilic and macrophagic inflammation with evidence of prior hemorrhage. Within four weeks, the structure had re-filled to its original size and was subsequently excised in its entirety, via a lateral orbitotomy. Histopathologic findings indicated a non-keratinising orbital cyst, the lining of which was consistent with a respiratory epithelial cyst. Recurrence had not occurred seven months' post-surgery. To the author's knowledge, previous reports of retrobulbar respiratory epithelial cysts have not been documented in animals.     

Biochemical and histopathological studies to assess chronic toxicity of triazophos in blood, liver and brain tissue of rats

Triazophos, O,O-diethyl-1-H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl phosphorothioate, (TZ) is an organophosphorus pesticide which is extensively used in agriculture for controlling insect pests. Except a FAO/WHO report no study has investigated its short-term toxicity with respect to its potential to cause biochemical and histopathological alterations. The present study was designed to identify the effect of TZ at different doses (1.64, 3.2 and 8.2 mg/kg) on the oxidative stress parameters in blood as well as organs involved in xenobiotic metabolism (liver and brain) following chronic exposure for 90 days. Moreover, the study also delineates the effect of TZ on the histo-architecture of these organs. The results indicated a dose dependent induction (p < 0.001) of oxidative stress, as evident by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) level and compromised antioxidant defense including glutathione S transferase (GST) activity, glutathione (GSH) content and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) in blood, and increased MDA level with concomitantly decreased GSH content in tissues, following chronic exposure to TZ. The ratio of MDA: FRAP in blood was found to be increased following chronic exposure to TZ and may serve as a suitable indicator of severity of oxidative damage. Onset of such biochemical alterations is one of the early adaptive responses to TZ exposure which leads to histopathological alterations in terms of diffuse fatty changes expanding from mid-zonal area to whole lobule in liver. However, increased oxidative stress did not bring any morphological alteration in brain. The present study concludes that induction of oxidative stress, leading to subsequent histopathological alterations in liver, is an important mechanism underlying the TZ induced chronic toxicity.     

Plant water requirement of ‘Hamlin’ sweet orange in cold temperature conditions

Citrus irrigation scheduling is usually based on evapotranspiration (ET) multiplied by a crop coefficient that varies throughout the year. However, ET at 10°C and less has not been investigated. Citrus acclimate to temperatures below 10°C, which affects ET, and therefore may allow irrigation scheduling to be adjusted accordingly. Three separate growth chamber experiments were conducted in complete block design with two temperature treatments and 8-one tree replications with the objective of determining water use of ‘Hamlin’ orange exposed to cold temperatures. The treatments included: full cold-acclimating temperatures, alternating 10 days cold and 3 days warm temperatures, and alternating 10 days warm and 3 days cold temperatures. Although well-watered, trees exposed to temperatures ≤10°C demonstrated lower water use compared to trees held at temperatures that promoted growth. Reduction of water use of cold-treated plants than the controls was 66, 20–57, and 14–28% during full cold-acclimating temperatures, alternating 10 days cold and 3 days warm, and alternating 10 days warm and 3 days cold temperatures, respectively. Reduced water use of cold-treated plants was due to stomatal closure, increased root resistance, and decreased leaf area. Effective irrigation scheduling based on water requirements as they change during cold-acclimating temperatures should save water while providing adequate water for yield and quality.     

Determination of Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value with Fatty Acid Compositions of African Mangosteen (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Garcinia Livingstonei</Emphasis>)

African mangosteen (Garcinia livingstonei T. Anderson) is native to Africa and is exotic to other parts of the world. It is a fruit bearing tree with multiple uses. This study was purposed to determine, by analysis, the chemical compositions and nutritive value of the fruits of African mangosteen. Proximate compositions varied with the portions such as epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp and seed tested. All fruit portions contained carbohydrate (37.67–95.02%) and crude protein (0.65–31.76%) as their major components. Moisture (0.45–3.42%), crude fat (1.23–19.55%), crude fiber (2.93–21.13%) and ash (1.76–5.44%) were also found at different levels, depending upon the portions. All portions of fruit were rich in macro and micro elements. The fruits also possessed phenolics (174.02–10.725?mg GAE per g), flavonoid (19.25 to 99.98?µg QE per g) and alkaloid (1.56 to 9.49?mg/kg) contents. The constitution of tannins and oxalate which contribute towards the anti-nutritive value was also low, thus making the fruits beneficial for consumption. Quality attributes like relative amount of oleic acid, total unsaturated fatty acid, acid value, free fatty acid, peroxide value and iodine value showed that the seed oil of African mangosteen can become one among the oleic acid based vegetable oils for consumption.     

Missing baryons and the warm-hot intergalactic medium

Stars and gas in galaxies, hot intracluster medium, and intergalactic photo-ionized gas make up at most half of the baryons that are expected to be present in the universe. The majority of baryons are still missing and are expected to be hidden in a web of warm-hot intergalactic medium. This matter was shock-heated during the collapse of density perturbations that led to the formation of the relaxed structures that we see today. Finding the missing baryons and thereby producing a complete inventory of possibly the only detectable component of the energy-mass budget of the universe is crucial to validate or invalidate our standard cosmological model.     

Acidification of Surface Water in Central India

The results of the seasonal analysis of the chemistry of rain, fog and surface water of central India for the two years: June 1996 to May 1998 are presented. A total of 636 rain water samples, 146 fog water samples and 226 surface water samples of 8 locations: namely, Ambikapur, Baikunthpur, Korba, Bilaspur, Raipur, Bhilai, Dallirajhara and Kanker, from different sites were collected for the present study. This paper documents the occurrence of acidic rain and fog events and their effect on surface water pH and aquatic life in central India. Most of the rain and fog water samples collected from Baikunthpur and Korba sites were found to be acidic in nature (i.e. pH < 5). The volume weighted mean pH of rain and fog water samples of these sites was 4.8 and 4.4 with lowest pH 4.4 and 4.0, respectively. However, samples from Ambikapur, Bilaspur, Raipur and Bhilai were slightly acidic and their pH values were always around 5.8. One reservoir (mean pH 5.8) and two stop dams (mean pH 4.4 and 4.2) in Baikunthpur area were found to be acidic. The effect of acidification of water on metal-accumulation in muscles of fishes was studied. Concentrations of Al, Hg, Mn, Cd and Pb were higher in fish from acid, than from less acid waters. Causes of acidification of the atmospheric water and surface water are critically discussed.     

Micropropagation of Salvadora oleoides—An Oil Yielding Tree of Arid Forests

Salvadora oleoides is an ecologically important multipurpose tree of the arid forest that occurs in saline areas of northwest India. The seed of this plant yields non-edible commercially usable oil. Poor seed germination, low seed viability, and increasing industrialization are some of the constant factors which significantly affect the status of the natural population of this plant. Therefore, there is a great need to develop an efficient propagation system using the tissue culture technique. In the present communication, we demonstrate the development of an in vitro propagation system for S. oleoides. Multiple shoots were induced from nodal segments harvested from about 25- to 30- yr-old lopped trees of S. oleoides on MS medium + 0.1 mg L^?1 NAA (Naphthalene acetic acid) + 2.5 mg L^?1 BA (6-Benzylaminopurine) + additives. The shoots were multiplied by (a) repeated transfer of the mother explants on MS medium + 1.0 mg L^?1 BA + 0.1 mg L^?1 NAA + additives and (b) subculturing of shoot on MS + 1.0 mg L^?1 BA + additives. About 84% shoots rooted ex vitro on soilrite within 3–4 weeks when base (4–5 mm) of shoots was treated with 100 mg L^?1 of IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid) for 5 min. The plantlets were hardened successfully in the greenhouse and transferred to the pots and field. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a regeneration protocol for S. oleoides from explants obtained from mature trees. Use of the ex vitro rooting technique for plant production serves as a more economical option as it reduces labor, cost, and time. We suggest that the methods developed and described in this article can be used for large-scale plant production and conservation of germplasm of this tree species.     

Ethnobotanical flora used by four major tribes of Koraput, Odisha, India

The aim of this study is to chronicle the utilization pattern of a number of plant species by four major tribes inhabiting in Koraput district of Odisha, India. Fifteen villages dominated by tribal communities, under five Community Development Blocks were selected. A semi structured questionnaire was developed to bring together data on traditional crops and forest species still used by the communities. The methodology engaged was personal discussions with mixed focused groups combined with field visits, photographs, voice recordings and collection of materials. Findings were that tribal communities cultivate a diverse crop species with varying durations to meet their food and economic requirement throughout the year. This was supplemented by wild food collections during scarcity periods. Various forest species provide wood, fibre, leaves and grasses for agriculture, house construction and specific uses besides enhancing household income. Tribal health care practitioners collect medicinal plants from the wild and semi wild to treat both humans and livestock. At the end of the study the team assumed that tribal communities would continue to depend on traditional crops and wild forest foods for their household consumption and a diverse species of plants for other specific use. Conservation of these valuable resources in its natural habitat would be an appropriate approach for ensuring food security of future generations. Conventional plant breeders and biotechnologists should undertake scientific validation of these crops and plants to make their value explicitly known. This knowledge could be utilized for crop improvement and bio-prospecting. There is also scope for equitable sharing of benefits if used by the seed and pharmaceutical industries in future.     

Water Stress-induced Injury to Reproductive Phase in Chickpea: Evaluation of Stress Sensitivity in Wild and Cultivated Species in Relation to Abscisic Acid and Polyamines

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is more sensitive to water stress during its reproductive growth and consequently experiences substantial yield loss. Wild species being relatively tolerant to abiotic stresses offer a potential gene source for incorporation of drought tolerance in cultivated species. In the present study, the differential stress sensitivity of wild (Cicer reticulatum Ladiz.) and cultivated species (C. arietinum) was evaluated by subjecting the plants of both the species to water stress for 14 days during the reproductive phase and examined for stress injury, endogenous status of polyamines (PA) and abscisic acid (ABA). Comparatively, the cultivated species experienced higher stress injury (assessed as electrolyte leakage, 2,3,5‐triphenyl tetrazolium chloride reduction ability, chlorophyll loss) as well as decreased leaf water potential (Ψ_w; ?2.48 MPa) than the wild species (?1.98 MPa). The stressed plants of cultivated species lost more number of flowers (62 %) and pods (65 %) when compared with the unstressed ones while those of wild species showed 30 % and 44 % loss, respectively. The number of infertile pods was significantly more in stressed plants of cultivated species than in those of wild species. The endogenous status of PA revealed that putrescine (PUT), spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM) levels accumulated to a higher extent in the cultivated species relative to the wild species until the eighth day of stress, and thereafter, the wild species had significantly higher levels of PA. In contrast, ABA levels increased to a higher extent in the wild species until the eighth day of stress and declined subsequently to a greater degree than the cultivated species. The injury to reproductive growth appeared to accentuate with reduction in leaf Ψ_w that was coupled with depletion of PA in both the species, especially in the cultivated one. Exogenous application of 10 mm PUT partially alleviated the damage to reproductive growth by increasing the leaf water status and chlorophyll content while decreasing the ABA content, which resulted in improvement of retention of flowers and pods, particularly in the cultivated species.