1 Histochemical localisation of RNA-like material in photochemically formed self – sustaining, abiogenic supramolecular assemblis ‘Jeewanu’, Gupta VK and Rai RK
Sunlight exposed sterilised aqueous mixture of some inorganic and organic substances showed the photochemical formation of self-sustaining, supramolecular assemblies ‘Jeewanu’. The microscopic observation (Optical, SCM and TEM) showed that they possess an ordered structural configuration. They are capable of showing various properties of biological order viz. multiplication by budding, growth from within and metabolic activities in them. The histochemical investigation of Jeewanu showed the presence of RNA-like material. The Abiogenesis of RNA-like substances in Jeewanu mixture supports RNA world theory suggesting its primitively.
2 Phytoremediation potential of Brassica juncea L. with reference to Atrazine, Khan Shahana J and Gaikwad Rupali S*
Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicide in the agriculture today. It is a triazine herbicide that is used for control of broad leaf weeds, mainly in corn and sorghum and also many other crops. Atrazine is highly persistent in soil and is leached directly from the soil into groundwater, surface water, and drinking water. Contamination may pose a significant threat to humans, wildlife, and the environment. Greenhouse experiments were carried out to determine potential capability of Brassica juncea L. plant to remediate atrazine contaminated soil. Persistence of atrazine in the treated soil and its residue were estimated by High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Data obtained with soil treated at 1000ppm of atrazine showed that residues of atrazine were less in soil planted with Brassica juncea L. compared with unplanted soil. Considerable concentration of atrazine i.e. 20.5?g/ml and 18.5?g/ml were detected in sterilized unplanted soil and soil planted with Brassica juncea L. respectively after 30 days of sowing. While these values were 17.5?g/ml and 14.0?g/ml in non-sterilized unplanted and planted soil respectively. This study demonstrated that residues of atrazine were reduced at faster rate in treated soil which was planted with Brassica juncea L. than the unplanted soil indicating that Brassica juncea L. was useful for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with atrazine
3 Effect of Detergent Tide on Paratelphusa Jacquemontiil (Rathbun) Freshwater Crab from Vidarbha Region, Topale PS, Ghaware AU and Jadhao RG
Aquatic toxicology is a study of toxic substances present in water and their adverse effect including mortality in aquatic organisms. With the growing awareness of the hazards of indiscriminate water pollution, the aquatic toxicological studies are gaining more significance. Indiscriminate use of shampoos, soap and detergents cause water pollution. The present investigation is discus the effect of detergent tide on Paratelphusa jarquemontii (Rathbun) crab mortality.
4 A review of biopolymer chitosan blends in polymer system, Gaikwad Uma V and Pande Shilpa A
Blending of two or more polymers to obtain materials with new and unique properties has become one of the most important research in the field of polymers. The main purpose of blending the polymers is to obtain materials of additional properties with minimum sacrifice of their original properties. Chitosan is the most abundant natural amino polysaccharide and is estimated to be produced annually almost as much as cellulose. It has become of great interest not only as an underutilized resource, but also as a new functional material of high potential in various fields, and recent progress in chitosan chemistry is quite noteworthy. The purpose of this review is to take a closer look at Nylon 6 and chitosan applications. Based on current research and existing products, some new and futuristic approaches in this fascinating area are thoroughly discussed.
5 Precision farming: The most scientific and modern approach to sustainable agriculture, Patil Shirish S and Satish A Bhalerao
Precision farming nowadays is an emerging area in agriculture which has a basic goal to maximize output (i.e. crop yield) while minimizing input (i.e. fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide etc) Precision farming can be defined as “application of a holistic management strategy that uses information technology to bring data from multiple source to make decision associated with agricultural production, marketing, finance and personnel”. The main objectives of precision farming are –to increase production efficiency, to improve to improve product quality, to reduce environmental degradation, to conserve energy and protection of soil & ground water. Key components of precision farming are: Information, Technology and Management. Precision farming technologies are classified in to five major groups: Computers, Global positioning system (GPS), Geographic information system (GIS), Sensors and Application Control. Precision farming promises higher yields lower input cost by streamlining agricultural management and thereby reducing the waste and labour. It also helps to minimize environmental pollution.
6 Groundwater Quality at Iron Ore Mines, Indiag: The most scientific and modern approach to sustainable agriculture, Verma SR, Chaudhari PR, Singh RK and Wate SR
The impacts on water environment are inherent part of any major developmental projects in two ways: one is stress on water resources (continuous withdrawal of large quantities of water) and the other is pollution impacts through discharge of effluents. Thes e impacts may be on either or both surface and groundwater resources in the project area depending on the specific situation. In the present study, an environmental aspect of tailings ponds of Bolani iron ore mines Orissa, India was studied. The quantity and characteristics of tailings are among the most important determinants of water quality at mine sites. The slime from the tailing pond showed 59% of material of inferior grade (50% Fe content) and 41% of material with higher grade Fe content (above 56% Fe). The tailing pond water was slightly alkaline with negligible nutrient content and the metals like Cu, Cr, Mn & Fe at trace concentration. The potential hazard of ground water pollution due to seepage from tailings pond was studied by Variably Saturated 2-D Flow and Transport Model (VS2DT) and it was found that the pond seepage of iron from tailings pond to groundwater would be negligible even after 3 years. Therefore groundwater would not be adversely affected.
7 Potentiometric Study of some Ternary Complexes of Gallium(III), Katkar VS
Modified form of Irving Rossotti’s pH titration technique has been employed to investigate mixed ligand complex formation tendency of Ga (III) with Thioglycolic acid as a primary ligand and Malonic acid ,Fumaric acid, Itaconic acid, Malic acid and Tartaric acid as secondary ligands. The study was carried out at three different temperatures, 250C, 350C and 450C.The thermodynamic parameters viz. ?G, ?H and ?S have been evaluated. The ?G and ?H values have been further separated into their electrostatic components ?Ge, ?He and cratic components ?Gc and ?Hc. Effect of change in dielectric constant and change in ionic strength have been studied on these systems. The results were correlated on the basis of steric and structural characteristics of the chelate formed.
8 Karyotoxicity of fungal metabolites in Trigonella foenum-graceum L., Bhajbhuje MN
Fungal metabolites are known organic compounds produced by diverse group of fungal organisms in infested host tissues as well as in nutrient growth medium, of them primary metabolites induce growth stimulating response while secondary metabolites appear to create disturbances in normal cell metabolism, growth and karyokinesis in mitotic cell cycle of metabolically active meristematic cells causing cytological abnormalities. The metabolites produced in growth nutrient medium at different growth intervals by Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler, a serious causal pathogen of leaf spot of Trigonella foenum-graceum L, were isolated, confirmed their chemical nature and evaluated for their cytological effects on metabolically active cells of meristematic zone of roots for cultivars, Kasuri and Kranti. An increase in per cent seed germination and seedling emergence without any abnormalities over control were recorded with five days old metabolites treated seeds. The seed germination rate and seedling emergence declined while percent abnormalities increased with metabolites of longer duration. The metabolites from five day old culture filtrate served as growth promoter while metabolites of longer duration as growth inhibitor. The meristematic cells of the root from treated seeds were reported to multiply abnormally due to appearance of many abnormalities such as Anaphase Bridge, laggards, diagonal metaphase and mis-orientation of mitotic spindles. The metabolites responded uniformly in both the cultivars with the parameters undertaken. The U.V. absorption spectrum TLC and phytochemicals tests for isolated toxins confirmed phenolic in nature.
9 Preliminary phytochemical screening of selected Medicinal Plants, Joseph BS, Kumbhare PH and Kale MC
Plants derived bioactive compounds have been the focus of recent research due to their health promoting effects. There is continuous and urgent need to discover new antimicrobial compounds with diverse chemical structures and novel mechanism of action because there has been an alarming increase in the incidence of new and re-emerging infectious diseases. Phytochemicals have great potency as antimicrobial agents. The present investigation was carried out to assess the qualitative phytochemical analysis of leaves of five medicinal plants i.e. Phyllanthus amarus, Clerodendrum viscosum, Ailanthus excelsa, Syzigium cumini and Cassia occidentalis by using polar solvent methanol, non polar hexane and aqueous extract. The phytochemical screening of plant extracts revealed the presence of steroids, Saponin, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenolic compounds, tannins, terpenoids and lignin. These phytochemicals have potent antimicrobial efficiency against selected infectious micro-organisms.
10 Assessment of water quality of Libri River, Purnia (Bihar), Mishra AK and Hasan S
Physico-chemical parameters of river Libri of Koshi zone, Purnia were investigated during March 2009 to February 2010. The result revealed well defined seasonal variation. Relatively high temperature, high value of dissolved oxygen and highest production range of alkalinity were observed which are favorable factors for the production of air breathing fishes. On the basis of studied parameters the river water appears to be of moderate trophic level and hard types. On the whole river is getting pollute due to intense human activities and influence infusion of foreign materials from the surroundings. These materials mainly comprise of decomposable organic matters of plants and animals, terrestrial washing and effluents. A large number of dead bodies are burnt on the bank of the river areas using fire wood and thus formed ashes containing huge quantity of minerals and half burnt flesh content are scattered into the river. This causes nuisance in the river water environment and raises a number of water pollution problems. Thus this water neither can be used for irrigation for crop fields nor for bathing can cattle drinking purposes.
11 Decline in Traditional Millet farming in Tribal Trace Areas of Mahabaleshwar Taluka a Hazard to Ecosystem, Bhosale Rahul S
Millets are well known for their nutritional values. It is a healthy and nutritional meal useful from infants to people suffering old age. It is one of the oldest crops used in cultivation practices. As time passed farming has turned out to be money earning business and farmer have shown more interest in cash crops. The trend of economic development in farming has shown deduction in natural and traditional farming of some millet. Similar effects on tradition farming of millets by local people from Mahabaleshwar have been studied in following paper.
12 MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES IN INSECT RESEARCH, Diganggana Talukdar
To meet the growing demand for food it is essential to increase the production of food. Insect pests are major constraints to global production for food and fibre that can be reduced utilizing modern biotechnological tools. In insect research field, the biotechnological tools have been applied to study various issues such as insect identification, insect control and insect genetic relationships. It has a significant role in improving efficacy, cost-effectiveness and in expanding the markets for the bio insecticides. Molecular techniques employed for identifying and monitoring establishment and dispersal of specific biotypes of natural enemies. Production, formulation and storage of entomopathogenic fungi can be dramatically improved through biotechnology and genetic engineering. Proteinaceous insect toxins (scorpion toxin, mite toxin, trypsin inhibitor), hormones (eclosion hormone, diuretic hormone) and metabolic enzymes (juvenile hormone esterase) introduced into NPV and GV genome virus to increase its efficacy to kill insect. Genetic manipulation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes encoding for proteins toxic to insects offers an opportunity to produce genetically modified strains with more potent and transgenic plant expressing Bt toxin. In 2011, planting of Bt cotton in India surpassed the historical milestone of 10 million hectare for the first time and occupied 88% of the recorded 12.1 million hectare cotton crops. However, field resistance of Bt crops to various insects have been noticed and to combat this problem two approaches namely refuge and pyramiding were recently introduced. The development of cryobiological method for preserving embryos of insects can significantly save the rearing costs, and the valuable collection of insect natural enemies could be maintained indefinitely. RNAi technology enables engineering of a new generation of pest-resistant GM crops. Insect control strategies that integrate advance knowledge in biotechnology with traditional wisdom and technology will contribute to the sustainability of agriculture.
13 Birds of Tipeshwar wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India, Wanjari AJ, Pawar SS and Patil KG
The present study was made to estimate the avian fauna in terms of species richness and diversity and guild structure in forest habitats. The present investigation was carried out to study avian diversity with aspect to ecological condition. The was carried out in Tipeshewar wildlife Sanctuary, near Pandharkawada, district Yavatmal situated which is situated far southern corner of Maharashtra State, adjoining the Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. The study was undertaken during July-2011 to June 2013.A checklist of total 158 birds species belonging to 46 families was observed of whic h 129 were resident, 12 were local migrant and 17 were migrant .The favorable ecological conditions like availability of food, wetlands and roosting places were attracting the various birds.
14 Study of Floral Epidermal Features in Gmelina arborea Roxb. (Verbenaceae), Ingole Shubhangi N
Gmelina arborea Roxb. is a medium sized, unarmed, deciduous tree with whitish gray smooth bark. The plant is also important medicinal. Its flowers are showy, 2.5–3.5 cm long, brownish-yellow usually in small, opposite decussately arranged small cymes of about three flowers along the axis of a densely fulvous-hairy terminal panicles. Floral epidermal features including nature of epidermal cells, stomata and trichomes along with their dimensions of all floral parts are studied. Epidermal cells are found straight walled in peduncle, bract, stamen, carpel and fruit with cuticular striations in staminal cells, broadly sinuate in calyx, broadly and deeply sinuate in adaxial and abaxial surfaces of corolla lobes respectively. Peduncle, fruit are astomatic and bracts, calyx and corolla lobes are hypostomatic. They are anomocytic in bract, anomocytic, diacytic and paracytic in calyx and anomocytic and very occasional abaxially on corolla lobe. Trichomes are of two types non-glandular and glandular, which vary, in minute details on different parts. Unique multiseriate glandular trichomes are exclusively found on filaments. Floral trichomes are found species specific and suggestive of their functional significance
15 Computational Genome analysis of Hypotetical Protein in Mycobacterium laprae TN For Therapeutic Drug Target Identification, Anjum Sumaira
Mycobacterium laprae Bacteria were selected .In this bacteria hypothetical protein were selected . The present study is aimed at predicting the 3-dimensional structure of AcylCoA Synthetase protein in M.leprae, which play a pivotal role in fatty acid metabolism and to find the active site of the protein, which is used as a strategy in drug design. The study was done by using different Bioinformatics tools. In silico differential genomics helps to identify genes that encode for unique metabolism with relation to human. The genomic database provides a vast amount of useful information for the drug target identification. The study revealed that Acyl-CoA Synthetase protein in M.leprae play an important role in fatty acid metabolism whose 3dimensional structure has not yet been solved. By confirming the structure of the modeled protein experimentally and knowing its active site helps in designing of effective Anti-Myobacterial drugs.
16 Changes in liver and body weight of mice exposed to toxicant, Kaware Mangesh
Malathion is one of the organophosphate pesticides which is toxic to animals. The present study deals with the changes in relative body weight and liver weight of Mice exposed to different doses of Malathion, ranging from 0.1, 0.5, 0.10 and 0.20 mg /kg/day diet. The result also showed the body weight continued to increase up to 90 days of intoxication and liver weight increase up to 28 days of intoxification later on slightly decreased at 90 days of experimental periods.
17 Effect of aqueous extract of aloe vera and allium Sativum on the lipid profile of male Albino Wistar Rat, Lilhare Minakshi U
From the present study it has been clear that the Aloe vera extract and Allium sativum extract showed significant changes in total cholesterol level. The results of this study showed that the total body weight gain after 21 days of experimental period when animals fed with standard diet. Effects of both extract on plasma lipid profile which proved that the changes in total cholesterol level in group II were significant at 0.01 levels as well as in group III and group IV. The change in LDL and HDL were not significant in both the experimental groups. While the change in Triglyceride level was significant in the experimental Group III where aqueous Allium sativum extract was given.
18 Allelic Frequency of ABO Blood Group typing & Rh-D factor in Muslim and Hindu caste of Amravati district (Maharashtra), Nagariya SA
The distribution of ABO blood groups and Rh(D) factor has been studied among the Hindu & Muslim caste of Amravati district (Maharashtra). In Muslim & Hindu caste of Amravati district people the ABO Blood group percentage distribution in Muslim were type A, 19.2%; type B, 31.2%; type O, 33.6% and type AB,16%. In Hindu caste, the distribution were types A, 24.8%; type B, 33.6%; type O,34.4% and type AB; 7.2%. The estimated allele frequencies were 0. 195016 for A, 0.266798 for B and 0.542293 for O,in Muslim caste & 0.175379 for A,0.238106 for B, 0.592496 for O, in Hindu caste were calculated. The distribution of Rh(D) group varies among the ABO blood groups. The Rh(D) positive allelic frequency was 0.677510 and the Rh(D) negative incidence was recorded as 0.322490 in the Muslim caste& Rh(D) positive allelic frequency was 0.959166 and the Rh(D) negative incidence was recorded as 0.045775 in Hindu caste studied population. The frequencies of Rh(D) positive in Muslims and Hindu caste were greater as compare to Rh(D) negative in both caste. The genetic relationship among different caste groups is not uniform. Polymorphism are now considered useful tool for studying differentiation in human population.