BIO-EFFICACY OF TEBUCONAZOLE 060 FS (RAXIL 060 FS) AS SEED TREATMENT AGAINST KARNAL BUNT, LOOSE SMUT AND FLAG SMUT OF WHEAT

A new molecule tebuconazole 060 FS (Raxil 060 FS) was evaluated against Karnal bunt, loose smut and flag smut diseases of wheat. The results revealed that seed treatment with tebuconazole 060 FS @ 0.333/ kg seed was found to be the best, recorded lowest incidence of loose smut (0.03% smutted tillers and 0.09% infected plants) and highest disease control (96.94 per cent on tiller basis and 94.67 per cent on plant basis). It also provided highest (13.42 per cent) increase in grain yield in case of variety UP 2338 and 8.88 per cent in case of variety HD 2329. The test fungicide tebuconazole 060FS @ 0.333ml/kg seed also improved field emergence (89.73 as compared to 88.15 per cent in control). Moreover, no phytotoxicity symptoms were observed due to any fungicides treatments. None of the fungicidal seed treatment was effective in managing the Karnal bunt. However, no inference can be drawn for flag smut as the disease did not occur during both the seasons. Hence, seed treatment with tebuconazole 060 FS @ 0.333 ml/kg seed can be recommended as an alternate molecule to existing fungicides for effective management of loose smut diseases of wheat. &nbsp

EVALUATION OF DIFENOCONAZOLE 3% WS AS SEED TREATMENT AGAINST KARNAL BUNT IN WHEAT BIJENDER KUMA

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of difenoconazole 3% WS against Karnal bunt along with some recommended fungicide. Based on the data of two crop seasons it can be concluded that the spraying of propiconazole 25% EC @ 500ml/ha at anthesis was most effective fungicide both in terms of managing the Karnal bunt of wheat and improving the yield. Among the seed treatments, seed treatment with thiram @ 3.00g/ kg seed was found most effective in improving the field emergence. However, the test fungicide difenoconazole 3% WS had no beneficial effects on field emergence, disease management and yield as compare to check. Nevertheless, the test fungicide difenoconazole 3% WS had no phytotoxic effects on wheat plants during both the crop seasons even at the highest dose tested

BIO-EFFICACY OF NEWER FUNGICIDE TRIFLOXYSTROBIN 25% PLUS TEBUCONAZOLE 50% WG (NATIVO 75 WG) AGAINST ANTHRACNOSE LEAF SPOT AND POD BLIGHT OF SOYBEAN

Evaluation of the efficacy of trifloxystrobin 25% + tebuconazole 50% (Nativo 75 WG) against Colletotrchum truncatum causing anthracnose leaf spot and pod blight disease and investigation on phytotoxicity of the fungicide on soybean were carried out during experimentation. Summarisation of results indicated that two foliar sprays of trifloxistrobin 25% + tebuconazole 50% @ 350g/ha, first at the time of appearance of the disease and second its 14 days later was found to be the best provided 78.06% disease control and recorded highest grain yield (1059.26kg/ha) and increase in grain yield (62.87%). However, it was found to be significantly at with the same fungicide applied @ 300g/ha, provided 74.86% control of the disease and recorded 60.31% increase in grain yield over control. Moreover, the chemical was found to be safe as no phytotoxic effect of test fungicide was noticed on soybean even at the highest dose (1400g/ha) tested

Cholesterol lowering and antioxidant potential of probiotic bacteria isolated from locally fermented milk product kalarei

363-372Probiotics due to their multifaceted health promoting attributes have gained immense research impetus in recent years. The current study reports the hypocholesterolemic potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from indigenous sources. LAB may use several mechanisms for lowering serum cholesterol level viz. cholesterol assimilation, bile salt deconjugation, and cholesterol adsorption on cell surface of live, resting and dead probiotic cells. Cholesterol lowering is generally a strain dependent phenomenon, and different LAB isolates exhibited varying level of hypocholesterolemic effects. Among the LAB isolates, K2 i.e. Enterococcus faecalis K2 showed the highest in vitro cholesterol lowering ability (82.32%), and strong bile salt deconjugation potential, and released about 128.43 µM/mL of cholic acid upon bile salt deconjugation. Furthermore, cholesterol removal by live, resting and dead E. faecalis K2 probiotic cells was shown to the extent of 72.46, 44.93, and 45.88%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy displayed appreciable adherence of cholesterol on to the cellular surfaces of E. faecalis K2 cells. The antioxidant potential of the cell free cultural fluid of LAB isolates was quite variable. LAB isolate E. faecalis K2 showed appreciable DPPH radical scavenging activity (37.36%), hydroxyl radical scavenging ability (26.35%), and superoxide radical scavenging ability (42.67%). Most of the LAB probiotic isolates were susceptible to conventionally used antibiotics, and lacked biogenic amine producing ability and haemolytic activity. The probiotic isolate E. faecalis K2 may have potential for application for management of hypercholesterolemia related coronary heart diseases, however, after thorough in vivo investigation

Cholesterol lowering and antioxidant potential of probiotic bacteria isolated from locally fermented milk product kalarei

Probiotics due to their multifaceted health promoting attributes have gained immense research impetus in recent years. The current study reports the hypocholesterolemic potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from indigenous sources. LAB may use several mechanisms for lowering serum cholesterol level viz. cholesterol assimilation, bile salt deconjugation, and cholesterol adsorption on cell surface of live, resting and dead probiotic cells. Cholesterol lowering is generally a strain dependent phenomenon, and different LAB isolates exhibited varying level of hypocholesterolemic effects. Among the LAB isolates, K2 i.e. Enterococcus faecalis K2 showed the highest in vitro cholesterol lowering ability (82.32%), and strong bile salt deconjugation potential, and released about 128.43 µM/mL of cholic acid upon bile salt deconjugation. Furthermore, cholesterol removal by live, resting and dead E. faecalis K2 probiotic cells was shown to the extent of 72.46, 44.93, and 45.88%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy displayed appreciable adherence of cholesterol on to the cellular surfaces of E. faecalis K2 cells. The antioxidant potential of the cell free cultural fluid of LAB isolates was quite variable. LAB isolate E. faecalis K2 showed appreciable DPPH radical scavenging activity (37.36%), hydroxyl radical scavenging ability (26.35%), and superoxide radical scavenging ability (42.67%). Most of the LAB probiotic isolates were susceptible to conventionally used antibiotics, and lacked biogenic amine producing ability and haemolytic activity. The probiotic isolate E. faecalis K2 may have potential for application for management of hypercholesterolemia related coronary heart diseases, however, after thorough in vivo investigation

A comparative study of salivary and serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase in patients with osteoporosis

Background: This study was undertaken to investigate the changes in salivary and serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase in osteoporosis patients. The objective was to compare the change in serum levels with those in saliva.Methods: The study was conducted in the department of biochemistry, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Shobha Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Subjects were selected from department of orthopedics, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Shobha Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. At the same time one hundred adult osteoporosis patients confirmed by DEXA were taken. Calcium and alkaline phosphatase were measured in serum and saliva of each patient. The data obtained was statistically analyzed.Results: Serum calcium has strong positive correlation with salivary calcium (r=0.726) while serum ALP and salivary ALP had weak positive correlation (r =0.453).Conclusions: Saliva can be used to measure calcium level instead of serum as it is non-invasive, quick and easy method

Cholesterol lowering and antioxidant potential of probiotic bacteria isolated from locally fermented milk product kalarei

363-372Probiotics due to their multifaceted health promoting attributes have gained immense research impetus in recent years. The current study reports the hypocholesterolemic potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from indigenous sources. LAB may use several mechanisms for lowering serum cholesterol level viz. cholesterol assimilation, bile salt deconjugation, and cholesterol adsorption on cell surface of live, resting and dead probiotic cells. Cholesterol lowering is generally a strain dependent phenomenon, and different LAB isolates exhibited varying level of hypocholesterolemic effects. Among the LAB isolates, K2 i.e. Enterococcus faecalis K2 showed the highest in vitro cholesterol lowering ability (82.32%), and strong bile salt deconjugation potential, and released about 128.43 µM/mL of cholic acid upon bile salt deconjugation. Furthermore, cholesterol removal by live, resting and dead E. faecalis K2 probiotic cells was shown to the extent of 72.46, 44.93, and 45.88%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy displayed appreciable adherence of cholesterol on to the cellular surfaces of E. faecalis K2 cells. The antioxidant potential of the cell free cultural fluid of LAB isolates was quite variable. LAB isolate E. faecalis K2 showed appreciable DPPH radical scavenging activity (37.36%), hydroxyl radical scavenging ability (26.35%), and superoxide radical scavenging ability (42.67%). Most of the LAB probiotic isolates were susceptible to conventionally used antibiotics, and lacked biogenic amine producing ability and haemolytic activity. The probiotic isolate E. faecalis K2 may have potential for application for management of hypercholesterolemia related coronary heart diseases, however, after thorough in vivo investigation

Improved-Coverage Preserving Clustering Protocol in Wireless Sensor Network

Coverage maintenance for longer period is crucial problem in wireless sensor network (WSNs) due to limited inbuilt battery in sensors. Coverage maintenance can be prolonged by using the network energy efficiently, which can be done by keeping sufficient number of sensors in sensor covers. There has been discussed a Coverage-Preserving Clustering Protocol (CPCP) to increase the network lifetime in clustered WSNs. It selects sensors for various roles such as cluster heads and sensor cover members by considering various coverage aware cost metrics. In this paper, we propose a new heuristic called Improved-Coverage-Preserving Clustering Protocol (I-CPCP) to maximize the total network lifetime. In our proposed method, minimal numbers of sensor are selected to construct a sensor covers based on various coverage aware cost metrics. These cost metrics are evaluated by using residual energy of a sensor and their coverage. The simulation results show that our method has longer network lifetime as compared to generic CPCP

Economical production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate by Bacillus cereusunder submerged and solid state fermentation

Abstract High cost of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production remained a major hindrance for its wide range applications. In the current study poly-3-hydroxybutyrate producing bacteria were isolated from environmental sources. Highest poly-3-hydroxybutyrate producing isolate Bacillus cereus PS 10 was investigated for its ability to use wide range of low-cost carbon sources including agro-industrial residues, viz. wood waste, potato peel powder, saw dust, maize bran, rice husk, molasses, whey etc. for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production under submerged fermentation.B.cereus PS 10 exhibited remarkable metabolic capability and utilized most of the crude materials as carbon source for growth and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production. Maximum poly-3-hydroxybutyrate yield was observed when glycerol (8.9 ±0.3g/L) and molasses (8.6 ±0.25 g/L) were used as carbon sources.Execution of solid-state fermentation (SSF) using malt as SSF substrate showed that B. cereus PS 10 grew successfully under SSF and produced appreciable poly-3-hydroxybutyrate yield (14.4 mg/g). Ability of B. cereus PS 10to utilize vast range of crude carbon sources for growth and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production, and its capacity to grow and produce substantial poly-3-hydroxybutyrate yield under SSF reflects its potential connotation for industrial biotechnology

Design of experiments for enhanced production of bioactive exopolysaccharides from indigenous probiotic lactic acid bacteria

539-551Exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by several bacteria including the probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) not only help them to execute certain vital life functions, but offers huge potential for applications in sectors like medical/pharmaceutical, food, agriculture, and environmental health. However, low yield of EPS from probiotic LAB has always been a challenge. Previously we have reported that EPS from two LAB probiotic strains i.e. Enterococcus faecium K1 (isolate from kalarei), and Lactobacillus paracasei M7 (isolate from human breast milk) possessed several bioactive functional attributes like hypocholesterolemic activity, antioxidant potential, antibiofilm activity, antimicrobial activity, emulsification ability, and desirable physiochemical properties. However, the EPS yield was low. Current study reports optimization of process variables by Design of Experiments (DoE) to enhance EPS yield from these bacteria. The most effective process variables for EPS production were earmarked for E. faecium K1 (lactose, ammonium citrate, incubation time and pH), and for L. paracasei M7 (glucose, incubation time and pH), by Plackett–Burman design, and the same were optimized using central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). The EPS yield from E. faecium K1 was enhanced by 101.40% at optimal level of variables (lactose 10.07 g/L, ammonium citrate 2.49 g/L, incubation time 94.05 h and pH 5.4). Similarly, EPS yield was enhanced by 79.6% from L. paracasei M7 using optimal level of variables (glucose 10 g/L, incubation time 48 h and pH 7.6). Thus, DoE represents a powerful approach for optimization of process variables