Radium ion: A possible candidate for measuring atomic parity violation

Single trapped and laser cooled Radium ion as a possible candidate for measuring the parity violation induced frequency shift has been discussed here. Even though the technique to be used is similar to that proposed by Fortson [1], Radium has its own advantages and disadvantages. The most attractive part of Radium ion as compared to that of Barium ion is its mass which comes along with added complexity of instability as well as other issues which are discussed hereComment: Conference proceedin

Dental caries and the associated factors influencing it in tribal, suburban and urban school children of Tamil Nadu, India: a cross sectional study

Background. The study was planned to assess the prevalence of dental caries among tribal, suburban and urban children of Tiruchengode and Erode of Tamil Nadu state, India. The objective of the study was to assess the association of dental caries with family background, dental service availability, transportation and knowledge on preventive dental measures among these three groups. Design and methods. Cross-sectional study. A total of 1028 school children in the age range of 9-12 years from various government schools located in Palamalai and Kolli Hills (tribal), Tiruchengode (suburban) and Erode (urban), Tamil Nadu, were included in the study. Decayed, filled, and missing teeth (DMFT), decayed and filled teeth (dft) and Significant Caries Index were recorded. A specially prepared questionnaire was used to record all the data regarding oral hygiene practices, socioeconomic background, dental treatment availability, parent’s education level were used for the study. ANOVA t-test and post hoc test were used for comparing quantitative variables between the 3 subgroups. Results. The tribal school children had 89.3% caries prevalence, where as it was 77% in suburban and 55% in urban school children. The mean DMFT score among tribal, suburban and urban school children were statistically significant different (P=0.001) between the three groups. There was a highly significant difference (P=0.001) in the mean DMFT score based on brushing frequency. There was a statistically significant difference (P=0.018) in the mean DMFT scores in the urban group based on the mothers education status. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean DMFT scores based on the presence or absence of television in their house and the parents’ income. Conclusions. Oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and access to dental care services played an important role in prevalence of dental caries. It was observed that the socioeconomic status, parents’ educational status and mass media influenced the oral health of these children but without a significant contribution

Oviposition response of the mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus to the secondary metabolite(s) of the fungus, Trichoderma viride

Secondary metabolites produced by Trichoderma viride, a deuteromycetes fungus, under submerged culture condition were formulated and evaluated for oviposition attractancy against gravid females of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito. At a concentration of 10 µg ml-1 the formulation showed remarkable attractancy with an oviposition active index (OAI) of +0.52. When the oviposition attractancy of the formulation was compared with a known oviposition attractant, p-cresol, both at 10 µg ml-1, the former was found to be more attractive to result in 70% egg laying than the later with 30% egg laying. Thin layer chromatography fractions of the secondary metabolites showed that a fraction with Rf value of 0.88 was highly active as oviposition attractant with an OAI of +0.65. Further work on identification of the active principle(s) of the microbial formulation might lead to an oviposition attractant useful in mosquito vector management

Genetic variability of bovine GHR, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 genes in Indian cattle and buffalo

The identification of genetic polymorphisms in the genes that play a crucial role in regulatiing growth and development of livestock enables us to evaluate the biological similarities and to acquire a better perspective of quantitative traits. The present study was undertaken to characterize genetic variability in the bovine growth hormone receptor (GHR), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) genes among Bos indicus (Malnad Gidda, Khillar), Bos taurus (Holstein Friesian, Jersey) cattle and Asian water buffalo Bubalus bubalis (Murrah, Surti) using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis. These polymorphisms were confirmed by direct sequencing. The comparative gene sequence analysis in cattle and buffalo breeds revealed 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across different loci. Eight SNPs were detected in the bovine growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene, of which four were found in the promoter region and four in the exon 4 region. In the IGF-1 gene, two SNPs were observed in the 5ˈUTR, three SNPs in the intron 3 region and two SNPs in the coding region of exon 4. Three SNPs were detected in the exon 2 region of the bovine IGFBP-3 gene. The frequency of rare alleles observed in the present study ranged from 0.04 to 0.16. The present results revealed high levels of genetic variability in the GHR, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 genes in cattle and buffalo reared in India.Keywords: PCR-SSCP, genetic polymorphism, cattle, buffal