• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.363-367
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• 1998

This study has objectives of to estimate the genetic and phenotypic trend for growth in a closed herd of Landrace $\times$ desi crossbreds. The possibility of early selection of boars was also investigated in order to reduce generation interval and thus, to enhance response per year in selection programmes. The data originated from Livestock Production Research (Pigs), Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar (UP), India - a unit of All India Coordinated research Project on Pigs (AICRP on Pigs). Data consisted of 891 crossbred piglets, progeny of 29 boars. The piglets were born in 132 parities of 72 sows between 8 years from 1987 to 1994. Records on weight at birth, at 2 weeks interval upto 8 weeks of age (Wl, W2, ${\cdots}\;{\cdots}$ W8) and at 16th week (W16) were used in this investigation. BLLTP estimates of the sires were computed. Breeding value of each sire was estimated as twice of sire and sire group solutions. Phenotypic trend was estimated as regression of weight performance on year. Genetic trend was computed by estimating regression of breeding value of sires on time. Average body weights ranged from 0.92 kg (W1) to 18.95 kg (W16) and showed a continuous increase over age. Heritabilities of the weight at 4th and 6th week were medium (0.29 and 0.14). Rest of the weights were highly heritable. The product moment and rank, both correlations were high between breeding value for W6 and W16 (0.68 and 0.70). This shows that sire selection for W6 can be successfully implemented in order to achieve sufficient genetic improvement in growth. Phenotypic trend was positive at all ages. The phenotypic regression coefficient ranged from 0.02 kg at birth to 0.40 kg at 16 weeks. Genetic trend was also positive. The regression coefficients of average breeding value of sires on time showed a range of 1.471 kg (0.021 to 1.492 kg) for different weights. These coefficients were significant and higher than their corresponding phenotypic regression coefficient.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4725-4732
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• 2012

Aim: The incidence of stomach cancer in Mizoram is highest in India. We have conducted a population based matched case-control study to identify environmental and genetic risk factors in this geographical area. Methods: A total of 102 histologically confirmed stomach cancer cases and 204 matched healthy population controls were recruited. GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were determined by PCR and H. pylori infections were determined by ELISA. Results: Tobacco-smoking was found to be an important risk factor for high incidence of stomach cancer in Mizoram. Meiziol (local cigarette) smoking was a more important risk factor than other tobacco related habits. Cigarette, tuibur (tobacco smoke infused water) and betel nut consumption synergistically increased the risk of stomach cancer. Polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes were not found to be directly associated with stomach cancer in Mizoram. However, they appeared to be effect modifiers. Persons habituated with tobacco smoking and/or tuibur habit had increased risk of stomach cancer if they carried the GSTM1 null genotype and GSTT1 non-null genotype. Conclusion: Tobacco smoking, especially meiziol is the important risk factor for stomach cancer in Mizoram. GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes modify the effect of tobacco habits. This study is a first step in understanding the epidemiology of stomach cancer in Mizoram, India.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4631-4637
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• 2012

Introduction: Tobacco use is a leading cause of deaths and disabilities in India, killing about 1.2 lakh people in 2010. About 29% of adults use tobacco on a daily basis and an additional 5% use it occasionally. In Odisha, non-smoking forms are more prevalent than smoking forms. The habit has very high opportunity cost as it reduces the capacity to seek better nutrition, medical care and education. In line with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) is a powerful Indian national law on tobacco control. The Government of Odisha has shown its commitment towards enforcement and compliance of COTPA provisions. In order to gauge the perceptions and practices related to tobacco control efforts and level of enforcement of COTPA in the State, this cross-sectional study was carried out in seven selected districts. Materials and methods: A semi-structured interview schedule was developed, translated into Odiya and field-tested for data collection. It mainly contained questions related to knowledge on provisions of section 4-7 of COTPA 2003, perception about smoking, chewing tobacco and practices with respect to compliance of selected provisions of the Act. 1414 samples were interviewed. Results: The highest percentage of respondents was from the government departments. 73% of the illiterates consumed tobacco as compared to 34% post graduates. 52.1% of the respondents were aware of Indian tobacco control laws, while 80.8% had knowledge about the provision of the law prohibiting smoking in public places. However, 36.6% of the respondents reported that they had 'very often' seen tobacco products being sold 'to a minor', while 31.2% had seen tobacco products being sold 'by a minor'. In addition, 24.8% had 'very often' seen tobacco products being sold within a radius of 100 yards of educational institutions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1061-1068
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• 2010

The biological synthesis of nanoparticles has gained considerable attention in view of their excellent biocompatibility and low toxicity. We isolated and purified rhamnolipids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain BS-161R, and these purified rhamnolipids were used to synthesize silver nanoparticles. The purified rhamnolipids were further characterized and the structure was elucidated based on one- and two-dimensional $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ NMR, FT-IR, and HR-MS spectral data. Purified rhamnolipids in a pseudoternary system of n-heptane and water system along with n-butanol as a cosurfactant were added to the aqueous solutions of silver nitrate and sodium borohydride to form reverse micelles. When these micelles were mixed, they resulted in the rapid formation of silver nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The nanoparticles formed had a sharp adsorption peak at 410 nm, which is characteristic of surface plasmon resonance of the silver nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were monodispersed, with an average particle size of 15.1 nm (${\sigma}={\pm}5.82$ nm), and spherical in shape. The EDS analysis revealed the presence of elemental silver signal in the synthesized nanoparticles. The formed silver nanoparticles exhibited good antibiotic activity against both Grampositive and Gram-negative pathogens and Candida albicans, suggesting their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1536-1543
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• 2013

Proteases produced by Xenorhabdus are known to play a significant role in virulence leading to insect mortality. The present study was undertaken to purify and characterize protease from Xenorhabdus indica, an endosymbiont of nematode Steinernema thermophilum, and to decipher its role in insect mortality and its efficacy to control Helicoverpa armigera. A set of 10 strains of Xenorhabdus isolated from different regions of India were screened for protease activity on the basis of zone of clearing on gelatin agar plates. One potent strain of Xenorhabdus indica was selected for the production of protease, and the highest production (1,552 U/ml) was observed at 15-18 h of incubation at $28^{\circ}C$ in soya casein digest broth. The extracellular protease was purified from culture supernatant using ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography. The enzyme was further characterized by SDS-PAGE and zymography, which confirmed the purity of the protein and its molecular mass was found to be ~52 kDa. Further MALDI-TOF/TOF analysis and effect of metal chelating agent 1,10-phenanthrolin study revealed the nature of the purified protease as a secreted alkaline metalloprotease. The bioefficacy of the purified protease was also tested against cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and resulted in $67.9{\pm}0.64%$ mortality within one week. This purified protease has the potential to be developed as a natural insecticidal agent against a broad range of agriculturally important insects.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6245-6250
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• 2012

Background: With increase in life expectancy, adoption of newer lifestyles and screening using prostate specific antigen (PSA), the incidence of prostate cancer is on rise. Globally prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and sixth leading cause of cancer death in men. The present communication makes an attempt to analyze the time trends in incidence for different age groups of the Indian population reported in different Indian registries using relative difference and regression approaches. Materials and Methods: The data published in Cancer Incidence in Five Continents for various Indian registries for different periods and/or publications by the individual registries served as the source materials. Trends were estimated by computing the mean annual percentage change (MAPC) in the incidence rates using the relative difference between two time periods (latest and oldest) and also by estimation of annual percentage change (EAPC) by the Poisson regression model. Results: Age adjusted incidence rates (AAR) of prostate cancer for the period 2005-2008 ranged from 0.8 (Manipur state excluding Imphal west) to 10.9 (Delhi) per $10^5$ person-years. Age specific incidence rates (ASIR) increased in all PBCRs especially after 55 years showing a peak incidence at +65 years clearly indicating that prostate cancer is a cancer of the elderly. MAPC in crude incidence rate(CR) ranged from 0.14 (Ahmedabad) to 8.6 (Chennai). Chennai also recorded the highest MAPC of 5.66 in ASIR in the age group of 65+. Estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) in the AAR ranged from 0.8 to 5.8 among the three registries. Increase in trend was seen in the 55-64 year age group cohort in many registries and in the 35-44 age group in Metropolitan cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. Conclusions: Several Indian registries have revealed an increasing trend in the incidence of prostate cancer and the mean annual percentage change has ranged from 0.14-8.6.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.922-926
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• 2006

A genetic polymorphism study on butyrophilin gene was carried out to explore variability of this gene and to estimate effects of such variability on milk quality traits in crossbred cattle. Polymorphism was unraveled by conducting Hae III PCR-RFLP of this gene. Three genotypes such as AA, BB and AB and two alleles namely A and B were observed in crossbred population. The frequencies of genotypes and alleles were 0.78, 0.17 and 0.04 for AA, AB and BB genotypes, respectively, and 0.87 and 0.13 for A and B alleles, respectively. The nucleotides, which have been substituted from allele A to B, were observed as C to G ($71^{st}$ nucleotide), C to T ($86^{th}$ nucleotide), A to T ($217^{th}$ nucleotide), G to A ($258^{th}$ nucleotide), A to C ($371^{st}$ nucleotide) and C to T ($377^{th}$ nucleotide). The nucleotide substitutions at $71^{st}$, $86^{th}$ and $377^{th}$ position of the fragment were found as silent mutations whereas nucleotide changes at $217^{th}$, $258^{th}$ and $371^{st}$ positions were detected as substitution of amino acid lysine with arginine, valine with isoleucine, and leucine with proline from allele A to B. The genotypes had significant effects ($p{\leq}0.05$) on total milk solid%, fat%, SNF%, while showing nonsignificant impact on total protein%. AA genotype produced highest average yield for all the traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.603-607
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• 2004

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR) analysis was carried out with a battery of 11 random decamer primers to study band frequency (BF), genetic identity index (I) and mean average percentage difference (MAPD) between Bhadawari and Murrah breeds of buffalo. The primers OPA04 and BG15 resolved a band of 460 bp, which was present only in animals of Bhadawari breed. Whereas, the primers OPA14, BG27 and BG28 produced Murrah specific fragments of sizes 730 bp and 1,230 bp, respectively. The estimate of genetic identity index was highest (0.845) with the primer OPA01 and the lowest (0.479) with the primer BG27. The genetic identity index pooled over the primers was 0.596${\pm}$0.037 between these two breeds. The highest MAPD estimate (53.9) between the two breeds was obtained with the primer BG27 and the lowest (14.3) with the primer OPA01. It might be concluded that the genetic identity index between these two breeds calculated on the basis of BF showed moderate level of genetic identity with the primers employed. MAPD calculated on the basis of uncommon bands also demonstrated lower to medium level of genetic difference between Bhadawari and Murrah breeds of buffalo.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.267-273
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• 2011

Methyl violet, used extensively in the commercial textile industry and as a biological stain, is a hazardous recalcitrant. Aspergillus sp. strain CB-TKL-1 isolated from a water sample from Tsumoriri Lake, Karzok, Ladakh, India, was found to completely decolorize methyl violet within 24 h when cultured under aerobic conditions at $25^{\circ}C$. The rate of decolorization was determined by monitoring the decrease in the absorbance maxima of the dye by UV-visible spectroscopy. The decolorization of methyl violet was optimal at pH 5.5 and $30^{\circ}C$ when agitated at 200 rpm. Addition of glucose or arabinose (2%) as a carbon source and sodium nitrate or soyapeptone (0.2%) as a nitrogen source enhanced the decolorization ability of the culture. Furthermore, the culture exhibited a maximum decolorization rate of methyl violet after 24 h when the C:N ratio was 10. Nine N-demethylated decolorized products of methyl violet were identified based on UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and LC-MS analyses. The decolorization of methyl violet at the end of 24 h generated mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexa-N-demethylated intermediates of pararosaniline. The variation of the relative absorption peaks in the decolorized sample indicated a linear decrease of hexa-N-demethylated compounds to non-N-demethylated pararosaniline, indicating a stepwise N-demethylation in the decolorization process.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1367-1378
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• 2020

The polyphagous eri silk moth, Samia ricini, is associated with various symbiotic gut bacteria believed to provide several benefits to the host. The larvae of S. ricini were subjected to isolation of gut bacteria using culture-dependent 16S rRNA generic characterization, metagenomics analysis and qualitative enzymatic assays. Sixty culturable aerobic gut bacterial isolates comprising Firmicutes (54%) and Proteobacteria (46%); and twelve culturable facultative anaerobic bacteria comprising Proteobacteria (92%) and Firmicutes (8%) were identified inhabiting the gut of S. ricini. The results of metagenomics analysis revealed the presence of a diverse community of both culturable and un-culturable gut bacteria belonging to Proteobacteria (60%) and Firmicutes (20%) associated with seven orders. An analysis of the results of culturable isolation indicates that these bacterial isolates inhabited all the three compartments of the gut. Investigation on persistence of bacteria coupled with metagenomics analysis of the fifth instar suggested that bacteria persist in the gut across the different instar stages. In addition, enzymatic assays indicated that 48 and 75% of culturable aerobic, and 75% of anaerobic gut bacterial isolates had cellulolytic, lipolytic and nitrate reductase activities, thus suggesting that they may be involved in food digestion and nutritional provision to the host. These bacterial isolates may be good sources for profiling novel genes and biomolecules for biotechnological application.