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July 2013

  1. Dr. Prakash, V., Jayarani, K. and Rajesh, J.

    Banking sector of India is flourishing and contributing to its economy. In this aspect measuring relative efficiency among the banks is essential. Data Envelopment Analysis technique is used for this purpose. The data are collected from performance highlights of twenty six different banks in India published by Indian banks association. Data Envelopment Analysis is mainly of two types – constant returns to scale and variable returns to scale with Input and Output oriented. Since this study attempts to maximize output, so the output oriented Data Envelopment Analysis is considered here. The most efficient bank is one that obtains the highest efficiency score.

  2. Manal Moussa Ibrahim and Sahar Mahmood El-Khedr

    Background: The hospital nurse workforce is experiencing greater workloads resulting in shorter hospital stays, rising average patient acuity, fewer support resources, and a national nurse shortage. Higher nurse workloads are associated with burnout and job dissatisfaction. Patients have the right to expect quality of care. Patient satisfaction with nursing care is considered an important factor in explaining patients' perceptions of service quality. In pediatric settings, nurses have unique caring roles because of the vulnerable and intensive nature of their pediatric patients and the special bonds that can form especially when caring for patients and their mothers lasts for long periods of time. Aim: examines the relationship between nurses’ burnout and mothers' satisfaction with pediatric nursing care. Design: descriptive correlation design. Subjects: Convenient sample of 60 mothers and 55 nurses were involved in this study. The study was conducted at Pediatric Intensive Care unit (P.I.C.U). at Tanta University Hospital. Tools: Two tools were used in this study. An Interviewing Patient's Satisfaction Questionnaire (IPSQ) that was used to measure the patients' satisfaction regarding nursing care. The second tool was Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Results: There was low level of nurses' personal accomplishment and high level of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion, mothers' dissatisfaction was also, found. There was statistical significant negative correlation between nurses' personal accomplishment (burnout) and mothers' satisfaction regarding needs and expectations. Reduced personal accomplishment, depersonalization, emotional exhaustion and inappropriate work condition are the factors that lead to nurses’ burnout. Patient dissatisfaction results from nurses' communication, meeting children's need and expectations with highest percent in nurses' skill and competences. Recommendation: Developing an educational program for pediatric nurses to improve their communication skills.

  3. Shoor Vir Singh, Pravin Kumar Singh, Ajay Vir Singh, Saurabh Gupta, Kundan Kumar Chaubey, Brajesh Singh, Avnish Kumar, Abhishek Srivastav and Jagdip Singh Sohal

    Multiple diagnostic tests standardized in the laboratory are central to diagnosis of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), cause of Johne’s disease (JD) in domestic livestock, Information on bio-burden of MAP infection at animal, species, region, state and National levels is limited in India. In absence of National prevalence estimates (bio-burden), the disease has not received due attention and priority for the control. Present study estimated bio-burden of MAP in domestic livestock from different agro-climatic regions of country. Clinical samples (faeces, blood and serum) of suspected animals from farm and farmer’s herds / flocks, submitted to CIRG, Makhdoom between 2010 and 2011, were screened using multiple diagnostic tests (microscopy and IS900 PCR on faecal blood and Indigenous ELISA on serum samples). Of the 716 faecal samples screened by microscopy, 50.9% were positive for acid-fast bacilli like MAP. of the faecal (n=183) and blood (n=510) samples screened using IS900 PCR; 27.3 and 19.6% were detected positive, respectively. Screening of 1598 serum samples (goats, sheep and cattle), by ‘Indigenous ELISA kit’ 68.4% were positive. The study reports very high bio-burden of MAP in domestic livestock population. Molecular characterization of MAP using IS1311 PCR-REA identified ‘Bison type’ as predominant biotype (98.6%) in domestic livestock population.

  4. Sabnis Anjali, S.

    During routine cadaver dissection of dorsal aspect of hand of 54 and 60 years of male, multiple tendons of Extensor Pollicis Brevis (EPB) were found on right and left side respectively. On the other side EPB maintained the normal anatomy. Variations in muscles of thumb have always attracted hand surgeons as they can be used for tendon transfer. Surgery and physiotherapy point of view multiple tendons of EPB are important. The clinical significance and embryological basis of multiple tendons of EPB is discussed.

  5. Saied Maham, Fatemeh Fallah, Anahita Sanaaei, Raheleh Sadat Sajadi Nia, Mohsen Zahraie, Saadat Adabian, Masoud Kiani and Fatemeh Bitajian

    Background: Human caliciviruses (HuCV) are emerging enteric pathogens that are a common cause of diarrhea in humans worldwide. The prevalence of HuCV responsible for acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 years old was determined using Reverse transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (Rt-PCR) on purified viral nucleic acid from fecal samples. Objectives: The aim of this study was to detect Calicivirus in stool samples by Rt-PCR in 5 different centers in Iran. Methods: In this study, 3260 stool samples were collected from children less than 5 years old with acute gastroenteritis from five different cities. Calicivirus detection was performed through Rt-PCR. Fecal speciments were collected within 24 hours of admission. The speciments were frozen, sent to the laboratory, and then stored at -80 0C until being tested for Calicivirus. Results: Rt-PCR was performed for 3260 stool samples containing 53 (1.62%) HuCV positive. The Rt-PCR was validated with published primers for HuCV (P289/P290). 84.2% of Calicivirus-caused gastroenteritis was found among children under 2 years old, which was statistically significant (P value < 0.05). Conclusion: HuCVs, one of the most important causes of acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 years old, can be detected by Rt-PCR.

  6. Ruchi Tiwari, Sandip Chakraborty, Kuldeep Dhama, Rajagunalan, S. and Shoor Vir Singh

    Untreatable bacterial infections become treatable due to the discovery of antibiotics in the previous century but their inappropriate and irrational uses ultimately led to emergence of resistant microbial population. Genes responsible for conferring resistance are transferred horizontally via conjugation; transduction or transformation. Tetracyclines and beta lactams represent 50% each of the total antibiotics used in feeds and global antibiotic consumption respectively. Due to development of antibiotic resistance there may be failure of the resistant bacteria to respond to the prescribed treatment; risk of infectious diseases becoming uncontrollable; financial burden; advanced therapeutic approaches may get jeopardized and ultimately resistant organisms may spread to distant countries and continents. Both intrinsic and acquired resistance mechanisms are involved in bacterial antibiotic resistance. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) are among the most striking antibiotic resistant microbes in the recent years. Factors driving antibiotic resistance include: inadequate national commitment; improper surveillance; irrational use of drugs; poor disease prevention and insufficient diagnostics and therapeutics etc. Limiting infectious diseases; judicious uses of antibiotics; precise selection and completing the full course of antibiotics; and regular surveillance, monitoring and continuous vigilance are the steps to limit antibiotic resistance. The most common antibiotic-resistant organisms sourced from animals are some strains of E. coli; Salmonella etc., which can also infect humans. Disc diffusion method and Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods; gas chromatography (GC); High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV mass spectrometry (MS) and nano quantity analyte detectors; microfluidic methods and electrochemical methods; European Union four-plate test (EU4pt); Frontier Post Test (FPT) are used to detect antibiotic residues. Use of penicillin or sulphonamides has raised public health and industrial issues. Prevention and control measures require involvement of various governmental agencies for accurate testing and screening; surveillance and monitoring. Along with this alternative therapeutic approaches viz. bacteriophages; virophage and mycophage; avian egg yolk antibody; cytokines and herbal; panchgavya and vaccine therapy; and diagnostics are the need of hours. The present review discusses all these aspects of antibiotic resistance and their solutions ultimately for social benefit with particular reference to emerging antibiotic resistance in animals and humans, its challenges, detection, antibiotic residues, prevention and control measures along with current and future scenario at International level, which would be helpful for formulating strategies for safeguarding health of animals as well as humans.

  7. Kuldeep Dhama, Karthik, K., Sandip Chakraborty, Ruchi Tiwari and Sanjay Kapoor

    Much has been studied about the involvement of domestic or companion animals which are around us, for their role in transmission of diseases. But, little is known about the involvement of wild animals in broadcasting of some zoonotic diseases which affect human to maximum level. It has increased the need to study many of such diseases as their spread is often difficult to prevent. They may be viral viz., Rabies, Avian influenza, Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Viral encephalitis and Haemorrhagic fever, Hendra and Nipah viral infections, Rift valley fever, Monkey pox and Kyasunur forest disease (KFD); bacterial viz., Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Lyme disease, Psittacosis, Plague, Tuberculosis, Human monocytic ehrlichiosis or parasitic viz., Alveolar Echinococcosis. Population explosion and changes in agricultural practices, travel and tourism and exotic pet keeping are the factors which play critical role in their spread. It is comparatively more difficult to monitor diseases in wildlife than in domestic animals and in the present day context of rapid human and animal translocation, the surveillance and monitoring of disease outbreaks in wildlife populations are particularly relevant. Monitoring mortality event, active surveillance, understanding the ecological patterns of disease distribution and identification of the factors associated with host-agent-environment relationship are of utmost importance. Manipulating the size of the host population by population reduction through evaluation of the desired level of population decrease and attempts to reduce large population by culling (lethal control), vaccination and medical therapy, and medical tools employed to limit the population growth of a maintenance host species (contraception), isolation and zoning, employment of geographical information system (GIS) all contribute effectively in the prevention and control programme according to feasibility. The present review describes the pathogens and diseases of wildlife having public health significance, their transmission to human beings and strategies for their surveillance and monitoring along with suitable prevention and control measures to be followed, which altogether would be helpful for formulating effective strategies for preventing and controlling wildlife zoonosis. The review would be useful for wildlife experts, epidemiologists, field analysts, veterinarians and medical health professionals.

  8. Meera Rath, Biswa Bhusan Mohanty, Divya Agrawal, Sanjay Kumar and Sureswar Mohanty

    Basal ganglia are group of subcortical nuclei which are components of modular circuits involving cerebral cortex, thalamus and brain stem related with cortical functions. Basal ganglia includes four to five distinct loop which is responsible for parallel processing of information and grouped into two distinct direct and indirect pathways. Thus, this dual system provides a motor centre exhibiting both excitatory and inhibitory effect. These circuits are involved in movement disorders categorized as Hyperkinetic and Hypokinetic movement disorder. In recent year, with the upcoming studies it has been clear that functions of basal ganglia not only focuses motor disturbances but also involves cognitive and emotional functions as well.

  9. Nwodo, Ngozi Justina and Nnadi, Charles Okeke

    The study was to examine the solubilization behaviour of halofantrine in electrolytes and co-solvent systems in order to select additive(s) for development of the drug into matrix and structured delivery devices. Solubility of halofantrine was determined by adding excess of the drug in 50 mL of double distilled water, electrolytes (NaCl, Na2SO4, NaNO3, Na2CO3) solution (0.01 – 0.50 M), co-solvents (10, 20, 40, 80 % v/v) of glycerol, polysorbate 80 and propylene glycol, in a 100 mL capped conical flask at 25 and 40 ºC respectively, equilibrated for 48 h and solubility determined spectrophotometrically from a validated standard curve (5-50 μg/mL, r2=0.9998) at 290 nm. Results showed that solubility of halofantrine was dependent on temperature and nature of additive(s). Only NaCl and polysorbate 80 improved solubility of halofantrine significantly with a negative Ks, ∆Gtrans and positive ∆Hºtrans, ∆Strans values at all concentration and temperature showing the spontaneity of solubilization; others salted-out halofantrine with higher Ks, ∆Gtrans, ∆Hºtrans and negative ∆Strans providing a less thermodynamically favourable environment for halofantrine solubilization. The Setschenow and thermodynamic parameters of transfer obtained could be utilized for development of halofantrine into structured devices and matrices to achieve efficient loading and entrapments that would improve solubility, absorption and bioavailability.

  10. Annie Kuriakose, Sandhya Gupta, and Mamta Sood

    Several studies show a high prevalence of somatoform disorders in general population. Patients with somatoform disorders have severe functional impairments and poor QOL resulting in higher health care utilization and significant suffering from illness related symptoms. A cross sectional study was undertaken on a purposive consecutive sample of 100 subjects with diagnosis of somatoform disorder to assess the Quality of Life and health care utilization. Tools used were WHO Quality of Life Bref tool and a structured data sheet. Quality of life was found to be low in all physical, psychological, social relationship and environment domains in comparison with population norms. Low QOL was found to be associated with gender, marital status, education status, occupation status, annual family income and duration of illness. Health care utilization was found to be high, with about 58% of subjects making nearly 40 visits to health practitioners before seeking treatment from study setting. Nearly about 46% of subjects reported spending about Rs. 30,000 each for their treatment outside study setting. The findings suggest that subjects with somatoform disorder made higher health care utilization and reported low QOL which was found to be associated with certain socio demographic factors.

  11. Osama Mohammed Hasan Al mosawy, Sameer Ali AL- Jubori, Mohammed Ibrahem Nader

    Polymorphisms in glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes may influence response to oxidative stress and modify prostate cancer (PCA) susceptibility. These enzymes generallydetoxify endogenous and exogenous agents, but also participate in the activation and inactivation of oxidative metabolites that may contribute to PCA development. Several studies show some differences in association of glutathione S-transferase M1 and T1 genetic polymorphisms with the risk of prostate cancer in various populations. The current study was done with Iraqi patient to evaluate the association of the polymorphism of glutathione S-transferase subtypes (T, M) and the susceptibility of prostate cancer in Iraqi patients as compared to controls. Blood samples were collected from 35 prostate cancer patients and 25 health individuals as controls from Ghazi Al-hariri hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. The multiplex polymerase chain reaction PCRmethod was used to determine the polymorphism of the glutathione S-transferase theta (GSTT) 1 and glutathione S-transferase mμ (GSTM) 1 null allele. There was significant association in the GSTM1 gene polymorphism and prostate cancer risk (P<0.05). Moreover, significant relationship was found between the polymorphism of GSTT1 genes and higher risk of prostate cancer among Iraqi subjects (P<0.05). This study showed that polymorphism of GSTT1 and GSTM1 genes can be predisposing risk factors for prostate cancer among Iraqi subjects.

  12. Kuldeep Dhama, Saminathan Mani, Sandip Chakraborty, Ruchi Tiwari, Amit Kumar, Pavulraj Selvaraj and Ram Bahal Rai

    Cancer is considered as one of the leading cause of death worldwide, especially in the economically developed countries. Over 12.7 million cancer cases with the death tolls reaching up to 7.6 million were in 2008 throughout globe. The situation is no any different in a country like India where death toll per year reaches upto 5.8 lakhs out of the 8.5 lakhs diagnosed clinical cases. Conventional therapies based on surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunoadjuvant therapy, cryotherapy, apoptin therapy and nanoparticles (to facilitate better drug delivery) are widely used but are having side effects, resulting in fatal outcome. Under such circumstances, herbal therapy forms an integral part of the alternative approach as they are cheaper and are without having any toxic effect. More than 50% of all modern drugs in clinical use are herbal products, many of them having the ability to control cancer and importantly, over 60% of cancer patients use them. Plants are used against various types of tumors/cancers such as sarcoma, lymphoma, carcinoma and leukemia. Natural non-steroidal anti-inflammatory substances and their roles to prevent cancer need to be explored. Broadly, the anticancer mechanisms of herbs have been divided into two distinct categories viz. direct cytotoxicity and immunomodulation. Several herbs add to the versatility of cancer management by boosting up the immune system and thereby, preparing the body to defend against future or existing cancer and include Morinda citrifolia, Catharanthus roseus, Taxus brevifolia, Camptotheca acuminate, Podophyllum species, Tinospora cordofolia, Glycyrrhiza glabra etc. having promising anticancer properties. India is an abode of several botanical plants effective against tumours of brain and uterus; abdomen and glandular organs; throat and breast cancer. Thus, it is anticipated that plants can provide potential bioactive compounds for the development of new therapies to combat cancer. But their efficacy in humans and animals need to be evaluated. Thus, rigorous safety and quality evaluation, comparative clinical studies using modern techniques, proper standardization methods, and good manufacturing practices are extremely important. Isolation and purification of biologically active components from the bulk extracts need to be carried out side by side to understand the basic mechanisms of the drug action. All these form the topic of discussion of this review in order to find out solution to this grave disease of mankind and animals without causing much stress and side effects.

  13. Khidr, T. T., Doheim, M. M., El-Shamy, O. A. A. and Abdelraheem, O. H.

    A series of ethoxylated nonionic surfactants, Cn E14 (n = 12,14 and 18), surfactants were prepared by reacting polyethylene glycol ( molecular weight 600) and different fatty acids: Lauric acid, Myristic acid and Oleic acid. The chemical structures of these prepared surfactants were confirmed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Analysis. The surface tension of the synthesized surfactants was measured at ambient temperature and the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) values were obtained. In addition the effectiveness of adsorption at Liquid/Air interface Гmax and minimum surface area Amin were calculated. The effect of these nonionic surfactants on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel in acidic medium 0.5M HCl was investigated. The pontentiodynamic polarization measurements showed that surfactants achieved a substantial decrease in the corrosion. The present study investigates the effect ethoxylated nonionic surfactant on depression of pour point waxy distillate fuels. Comparison of morphologies and structures of waxy crystals or aggregates in fuel oil beneficiated with and without a pour point depressant was done by micro photographic studies which show the modification in wax morphology due to additive.

  14. Hemalatha, M., Suriyanarayanan, N. and Prabahar, S.

    Nickel nanoparticles around 12nm were prepared by chemical reduction of Nickel Chloride dissolved in Ethylene glycol, in which hydrazine act as a reducing agent and NaOH as stabilizer. The powder XRD study confirms that the average size of the particle is 12nm.The Ni particles show the characteristic of super paramagnet with saturation magnetization (Ms) and the remanent magnetization (Mr) at 5K is 2.55 emu/g and 1.11 emu/g, respectively.

  15. Ilayaraja, M., Kulandaivel, S. and Sayee Kannan, R.

    An isolated marine bacterium Pseudomonas stanieri was studied for its biodecolorization potential using Malachite Green (MG) as a model dye pollutant. Various carbon sources (Sucrose and Starch) and nitrogen source (peptone) were optimized for bacterial growth and decolorization of dye. Maximum rate of MG decolorization (50 ppm) was observed within 60 h by the isolated bacterium in the culture medium by plate assay method. The decolorization was confirmed by UV-VIS spectrophotometer. The initial dye solution showed high peak at the wavelength of 619 nm. The decolorization dye showed disappearance of peak. The decolorization rate was in direct proportion to the biomass concentration. The effect of dye concentration (50-250 ppm), pH (6-9), temperature (30 -50˚C) and inoculums size (5-25 ml) on dye removal potential of the bacterium was studied. Kinetic data were described by pseudo-first and second-order models. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were applied to analyze the isotherms and isotherms constant.

  16. Sandeep Singh

    In this paper, we present many new fourth -order optimal families of Ostrowski's method for computing zeros of system of nonlinear equations numerically. In this paper, we extending the idea of the proposed families of Ostrowski's method to system of nonlinear equations .It is proved that the above said families have fourth order of convergence. Several numerical examples are also given to illustrate the efficiency and the performance of the presented families.

  17. Alaje Daniel, T., Fatumo Segun, A. and Adeoye Tolulope

    This research work is a statistical analysis of the HIV/AIDS carrier between the periods 2001 – 2011 in Osun state, Nigeria. The data used was extracted from the Osun State Action Committee on AIDS (SACA) records. Time series analysis was employed to analyze, measure, compute variation and fluctuation in the number of HIV/AIDS carriers in Osun state. Trends were obtained from least square method and the Autoregressive model. The criteria of selection of models used were Akaike information Criteria (AIC) and Schwartz Information Criteria (SIC) of which AIC AR(5) was chosen. The standard error was estimated for both predicted HIV/AIDS carrier rate using least square method and autoregressive model. Based on the fact from the analysis made, it could be concluded that the rate of HIV/AIDS carriers in Osun state fluctuates over the period “t”.

  18. Hisham Abdelfattah, Moetaz El-Hawary, Sameer Hamoush and Mohamed J. Terro

    This paper evaluates the shear strength of masonry wall panels reinforced with FRP composite systems under out-of-plane loading conditions. An analytical model and experimental study were developed to predict the out-of-plane shear strength of the FRP reinforced masonry walls. The experimental study was performed on eighteen 1000×600×200 mm walls reinforced with FRP on one side while the model is based on the theories of elasticity and fracture mechanics. The presented study accounts for the shear contribution of the masonry units and the fiber overlays. The experimental program presented in this paper is used for validation of the analytical model. A parametric study is performed to evaluate the shear strength of the walls for various geometric properties of the fiber reinforcement. It was found that the shear strength of the retrofitted system is a function of the thickness of the FRP system used. As a result of this investigation, guidelines for selecting the thickness of the FRP retrofitting systems can be determined for any required shear strength.

  19. Anake, W. U, Ehi-Eromosele, C. O., Siyanbola, T. O., Edobor-Osoh, A., Adeniyi, I. O. and Taiwo, O. S.

    Pollution of water bodies is one of the areas of major concern to environmentalists and requires continuous assessment. This necessitated the evaluation of the physical, chemical and microbiological quality of water from the primary sources of supply in different locations of Ota using standard methods. Results of the values of the surface and potable water in the study area showed that turbidity(0.19 to 11.6 NTU), conductivity (36.5 to 396 µs/cm), salinity (10 to 80 mg/L), alkalinity (0 to 64 mg/L), nitrate (0.20 to 4.60 mg/L), total hardness (5.0 to 80.0 mg/L), total solid (4000 to 7000 mg/L) total suspended solids (3967 to 6978 mg/L) total dissolved solids (17.9 to 198 mg/L), dissolved oxygen (4.50 to 9.60 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (ND to 4.67 mg/L), MPN count (2 to 1600 MPN/100 ml) and the faecal coliform counts ranged between ND to 2.5×104. The Physico chemical parameters of most of the samples analysed were within the limits set by both National and International standard regulatory bodies for drinking and domestic waters (SON, 2007; WHO, 2011). Overall, the potable water sources are suitable for drinking, but the faecal contamination in Iju River makes it unfit for drinking.

  20. Revathi, M. and Saravanan, R.

    In this paper, a new method is proposed to find the optimum solution of fuzzy networking problem. The fuzzy networking problem has been transformed into crisp network problem and it is solved by using forward and backward calculation. In this problem, denotes the duration from activity i to activity j. The distance is taken as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, which are ranked by using ranking method. The proposed method is easy to understand and to apply for finding the fuzzy critical path of fuzzy networking problem. Numerical example shows that the fuzzy ranking method gives an effective result of fuzzy networking problem.

  21. Rose Chiteva, Abiy Yenesew, Ben Chikamai and John Wanjohi

    Commiphora holtziana gum resins when solvent extracted followed by a combination of chromatographic separation techniques on hexane extract of the Wajir sample, led to the isolation and characterization of a new compound, 11–hydroxy-γ-muurolene 1. In addition, two known compounds, (1E)-2-methoxy-8,12-epoxygermacra-1(10),7,11-triene-6-one 2 and (1E)-3-methoxy-8,12-epoxygermacra-1,7(8),10(15),11-tetraen-6-one 3 were also characterized. A total of 14 compounds were identified by the comparison of the mass spectra with data available in the GC – MS library. Both dichloromethane and hexane extracts from both Isiolo and Wajir populations showed antibacterial activity. In addition the hexane extract from Wajir population showed antifungal properties. The acetone extract from Wajir population showed antibacterial properties. Activities were observed against Fungi, Gram (+) bacteria and Gram (-) bacteria. Pure compounds did not show any activity.

  22. Okeudo Geraldine and Chikwendu David U.

    This paper investigates how individual dimensions of Arik airline service quality determines airline image and passengers’ loyalty to the airline. To investigate the effects of individual dimensions of airline service quality, data was collected from a total of 600 respondents by the administration of a well structured questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL scale to determine their level of satisfaction on the attributes of airline service quality. Factor analysis was carried out on the data collect and three major service quality dimensions were factored out as variables to be used. Pearson correlation coefficient was determine to ascertain the significant relationship between the service quality dimensions and the airline image. Also a relationship was furher determined between the airline image and the passengers loyalty to the airline. Result from the analysis proved that there existed a strong statististically significant relationship between the service quality variables and the airline image, indicating that the quality the service the airline offers has a positive relationship with the airline image and the airline image also has a positive relationship with the passengers repeat patronage. Airline managers were thus advised to improve on the quality of service rendered to passengers since the study showed that one of the determinants of the airline image and the airline image also determines the passengers choice of repeat patronage.

  23. Dr. Punita Soni

    Intellectual property, very broadly, means the legal rights which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. It is simply the property created by the application of human mind. It is non-physical (incorporeal) and it derives its value from ideas. This Research study aims to highlight the diverse areas of intellectual property protection and to explore the consumer awareness level regarding divergent factors related to IPR. The Research paper focus to understand the concept of Intellectual Property Rights and to find its relevance in today’s consumer market as well as to determine the level of consumer awareness regarding IPR and various other factors related to it. The paper also reviews the utility of IPR and its impact on consumer buying behavior.

  24. Matelong K. Nebert, Nassiuma K. Bernard, Omboto I. Peter, Tuwei J. Gloria, and Tallam K. Zakayo

    In the present shoe shine enterprises scenario, service quality is a vital competitive advantage to maintain customer support and build great base for the enterprise. However, customer loyalty is little known and these categories of enterprise continue to be marginalized. This study examined the influence of service quality on customer loyalty in the shoe shine enterprises in Eldoret town Kenya. The specific objective of this study was to assess the effect of tangible of a service on customer loyalty. The study was based on the SERVQUAL model. The research design was a survey. A selection of 23 shoe shine enterprises guided the study to arrive at a sample size of 230 respondents selected randomly. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The main findings of this study indicated that, tangible of a service had a significant relationship with customer loyalty. Equally, customers considered tangible of a service as a critical indicator of their perception of service quality. This study concludes that service quality had a higher impact on loyalty in the shoe shine enterprises in Eldoret town Kenya. Arising from the conclusion of this study, it is recommended that county governments provide infrastructure for shoe shine enterprises to design modern shoe shine enterprises resulting to increased profitability in the long run as a result of repeat purchase.

  25. Suchandra Neogi

    Euthanasia has long drawn history in the western philosophical tradition. The practice of euthanasia had been regarded as ethically and morally defamable, though eminent philosophers like Socrates and Plato spoke in favour of it. Self-willed death in Indian culture is almost equivalent to euthanasia in western culture. In spirituo-religious practice, self-willed death held a position of high esteem. In Buddhism a monk must be indifferent towards life and death. A monk or follower was explicitly told that he would not commit self-immolation in order to reach nirvana sooner. In spite of these strong strictures against self-immolation, Buddhist monks used to put an end to their lives wilfully only to get enlightened. The stories relating to self-willed deaths of Vakkali, Godhika, Chhana, Siha and Sappadasa amply testify our view. The paper seeks to explore the relationship between euthanasia and self-willed death with special reference to Buddhism.

  26. Kimno William Kipkemoi

    This study assessed the influence of strategic factors on students’ choice of Kabarak University. The study considered the following specific objectives; to determine the enrolment trends at Kabarak University, to determine the extent to which financial factors influence the students’ choice of Kabarak University, to determine the extent to which marketing factors influence the students’ choice of Kabarak University. It adopted Census method to select the six (6) members of management, while systematic random sampling technique was used to select two hundred and eighty (280) students to whom questionnaires were administered. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis was used to analyse the data. The questionnare was the main instrument used for data collection. The study found out those financial factors such as, flexible fees payment policy influenced students’ choice to the university more than more than the martketing factors such as product development. The paper recommends that to improve enrolment in the University, there is need to recognize the fact that Kabarak university enrolment is declining and thus the University should design, implement and evaluate all inclusive change strategies. Secondly, the University should put more emphasis on the finacial factor that mostly influenced students to the University. Fee payment policy should be made very flexible to attract more students from needy and poor families.

  27. Dr. Menka, and Saba Owais

    The present research paper is an attempt to analyse the spatial patterns of rural beggars’ income, variations in the level of their socio-economic status, and the relationship between their per capita income (dependent variable) with selected variables of socio-economic development in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. The study is based on primary source of data, collected through the field survey in the Aligarh district carried out during 2009. Altogether, 496 households were selected for the present study from the 70 villages of the district. Spatial analysis reveals that high level of per capita income among rural beggars is observed in the central parts of the district and decreases outside, while, the peripheral blocks of the district are more socio-economic developed than the central blocks of the district.

  28. Dr. K. Krishna Dorababu

    Aquaculture is one of the fast growing and intensively spread in coastal regions especially in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. A large extent of coastal regions and fertile lands which are having rich resource potentials of flora and fauna are converted into fish ponds. This sector provides huge employment directly and indirectly especially in the coastal regions. The un-presidential and indiscriminate growth of aquaculture brings structural changes in the land use patterns especially in the coastal regions. As a result several complex problems arised in various spheres and create adverse effects on physical, environmental and socio economic fronts. Keeping the above aspects under consideration, an attempt is made to analyze the extent of the growth of aquaculture activity as well as determine land use changes reported over the period. Further the study assessed the impact of aquaculture and their adverse effects arised in physical environmental and socio economic aspects. Besides this suitable remedial measures are suggested for the overall improvement of the situation. The study has chosen coastal regions of West Godavari District as the study area because the higher extent of aquaculture activity is clustered in these regions and also reported rapid land use changes and environment and economy due to aqua culture at grass roots levels.

  29. Stephen Simako Okibo, Dr. Moses N. Oginda, PhD and Dr. Maria Onyango, PhD

    Work injury benefits provide financial support to employees who suffer occupational injuries in the course of employment. Work injury compensation is based on the principle of vicarious liability (liability without fault) which provides that victims of occupational injuries are compensated regardless of who is responsible for the accident or injury.This study specifically sought to establish the influence of the mode of payment on displeasure with compensation for job-related injuries. The research adopted a descriptive cross sectional survey design and targeted 741 employees and managers of tea factories managed by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) in Nyamira County. Nyamira County was selected due to a relatively high number of injured workers in its tea processing plants who seek the adjudication of courts regarding work injury reparation. The sample size consisted of 254 respondents selected from all the five KTDA factories in Nyamira County, determined according to Krejcie and Morgan (1970) tables of samples.Purposive sampling and proportionate stratified sampling were used to select the study sample. The researcher collected data using questionnaires, interview schedules and focus group discussions. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods such as means, frequency distribution tables and percentages. Chi-square test of independence was used to determine whether the study’s the dependent variable and the independent variable are independent of each other. Data was presented by use of tables, pie charts, histograms, graphs and text. The results of the research revealed that the employee displeasure with compensation for occupational injuries is dependent on the mode of payment of work injury benefits.The study recommends that all payments for occupational injuries be paid in lump sum once the process is concluded.

  30. Dr. Sarit Prava Das, Prof. Preeti Narendra and Prof. Parna Mishra

    Employee Engagement is a buzzword and a challenge for the human resource department of almost all the organizations. An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about his or her work, thus willing to invest his/her talent for the fullfillment of organisations goal. It is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its values. In short, it is a positive attitude and a strong emotional bond held by the employees towards the organization and its values which futher develops into organisation citizenship behaviour. It is due to this that measuring the engagement levels of the employees has become important for the organizations. With the above backdrop this paper focuses on conceptualising employee engagement with drivers of employee engagement and further highlights the relative importance of these drivers in terms of employee engagement.

  31. Cyprian Bankakuu Gandeebo

    The purpose of education reforms is to bring about newness in terms of competencies and skills. Many reforms have been introduced in the country's education system with the aim of improving and increasing student achievement. School-based Management was introduced as one of the many strategies employed to improve student performance. This paper addresses how SBM contributes to student achievements. To do so we asked the following questions: Why the sudden obsession about SBM? What is its role in school improvement process? Why are governments eagerly pushing for this approach in their education reform processes as if it was the panacea for quality education?

  32. Abd Elrahim Elgizouli Mohamed Ahamed, and Khalid Abuelgasim Ahamed Shimmo

    The main objective of this paper is to use the powerful Geographic information system and remote sensing to generate a geometric network for street in Khartoum center, for the purpose of management of the street network with in transportation system of the city. The data used in this paper was satellite image from Google earth and digital map from Ministry of Infrastructure, Department of Roads and Bridges. The present research comes to the conclusions that the Powerful geometric network has been designed and manipulated for the study area, within the GIS environmental and the geo-database with dataset and feature classes have been created to represent the reality of the geographic features in the study area. The application of the street geometric network has been subjected to different cases to evaluate their potentiality for meeting the essential requirements. The model shows great flexibility and powerful management facilities in production solutions for the real world problems concerning the traffic flow direction and motion distribution, such as the best route and the closest facility. The developed model is dynamic, so it could be modified, updated and subjected to further query processes among the study area.

  33. Amal Jose George, Dhanesh Kumar K. U. and Nikhil N. P.

    Background: Mechanical low back pain accounts for 80-90 % of the low back pains. Interventions in the management of low back pain shows conflicting results. PNF training is one of the interventions that is less investigated in the management of LBP. Objectives: The main objective is to compare the effectiveness of combination of trunk Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation training and conventional strengthening exercises with conventional strengthening exercises alone in the management of mechanical low back pain. Methods: A total of 40 male patients with mechanical low back pain who meets the inclusion and exclusion criteria are recruited for the study. 20 were allotted to Experimental group who received Trunk proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation training along with conventional strengthening exercises and another 20 was allotted to Control group who received Conventional strengthening exercises alone. Outcome measures were Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire and Trans versus Abdominis Activation Capacity. Data was collected twice for the study; pre treatment and post treatment after 3 weeks. Results: At baseline, the two groups did not differ significantly with respect to age and outcome measures. Comparing the differences between experimental group and group after 3 weeks, the t value for VAS, Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire and Trans versus Abdominis Activation Capacity were 4.231 (p<0.05), 4.003 (p<0.05 ) and .477 (p>0.05) respectively. Conclusions: The findings suggest that trunk neuromuscular facilitation training along with conventional strengthening exercises in subjects with mechanical low back pain induces a greater improvement on pain and functional disability as compared to conventional strengthening exercises alone

  34. Meera Jacob, Avadhani, R. and Bindhu, S.

    Objective:- Foramen ovale is located in the greater wing of sphenoid bone. It has great clinical significance in percutaneous trigeminal rhizotomy for neuralgia. This study presents variations in dimensions and shape of foramen ovale. Methods:- 30 dry human skulls were studied in the department of anatomy, Yenepoya medical college, mangalore. Length and width of foramen ovale was measured. Results:- out of 60 sides, mean length and width of foramen ovale was 7.85±1.32 and 3.95±1.27 on right side and 7.3±1.27 and 4.1±1.28 on left side. Majority of foramen studied were oval in shape.5 of 30 skulls showed the presence of foramen of Vesalius. One of the foramen showed the presence of bony bridging across the foramen. Conclusion:- This study is of great surgical significance in case of trigeminal neuralgia, fine needle aspiration technique in perineural spread of tumour and also in neurovascular compression.

  35. Ram Bahal Rai, Tukaram Damodaran, Kuldeep Dhama, Sandip Chakraborty, Balvir Singh, Hamid Ali, Sweta Rai and Saminathan Mani

    Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary glands caused by several pathogens as well as circulating metabolites, injuries etc. and its prevention remains a challenge to the veterinarians. It is the second most economically significant disease standing next to foot and mouth disease (FMD). In mastitis, the standard treatment is antibiotic therapy (parental as well as intra- mammary infusions) apart from fomentation of udder accompanied by drainage of milk but the success rate is only reasonable. Between 1999-2012, the present long term study was conducted starting from Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands to Northern Plains of India. Animals from Military Dairy Farm, Experimental Dairy, owned by farmers in the villages and private un-organized dairies were included. The managemental conditions varied greatly and accordingly mastitis incidences also. Standard treatment, trisodium citrate and the present formulation have been evaluated considering that trisodium citrate helps in continuous milk production by making available citrate as substrate. It has been observed that clinical mastitis is predominant at 0-2 weeks of calving (67.3 %) while sub-clinical mastitis is predominant during 8-24 weeks period (96.6 %). The standard treatment given one day prior to expected day of calving did not have significant effect on prevention of onset of clinical mastitis during the first fortnight while tri-sodium citrate reduced the incidence to 6.9% against 29.2% in the control population during the period. The present formulation reduced the incidence to 1.3%. In the control untreated clinical mastitis cases, majority of cases developed fibrosis and restoration of milk was less than 10%. The animals who received standard treatment showed moderate recovery restoration of milk varied between 20-60% but 5.7% of the animals developed fibrosis. The animals treated with present formulation showed excellent recovery. The blood and flakes disappeared within 2-3 days, and the swelling subsided in 4-5 days. Milk recovery rate from the affected quarter (s) was between 60-80%. In case of animals affected with sub-clinical mastitis also the animals showed excellent recovery with the present formulation and flakes or blood disappeared by 2nd-3rd day and milk yield was restored. Thus it can be concluded that in comparison to standard antibiotic therapy, the present formulation is more efficacious and cost-effective as far as prevention and the recovery from clinical as well as sub-clinical mastitis is concerned. Its wide usage is recommended to lessen animal sufferings from this economically significant disease condition as well as enhancing milk production.

  36. Kuldeep Dhama, Ruchi Tiwari, Sandip Chakraborty, Amit Kumar, Karikalan M, Rajendra Singh and Ram Bahal Rai

    Since the origin of earth temperature has played a significant role in the beginning of life on this planet. Continuous increase in the temperature of the earth is referred to as global warming that may have long term effect. Increased use of fossil fuels; use of natural gas and coal; population explosion; industrial wastes and agricultural fertilizers along with anthropogenic activities contribute to global warming. Increased level of Carbon dioxide (CO2) also has a negative impact on the marine ecosystem. The outcomes of global warming include rise in sea levels and expansion of tropical and sub-tropical deserts. Importantly, the risk of contracting diseases both in human and animals increases. Increase in global temperature primarily by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, has lead to the emergence of threat of diseases in human and animals particularly those of vector borne diseases like Blue tongue, West Nile, Japanese encephalitis, Dengue, Hanta virus etc. Species extinctions due to change in habitats and transport of livestock facilitates movements of viruses and arthropods (especially ticks) from one place to another. Variation of temperature and humidity have lead to increased growth of bushy plants, thereby increasing rodent population thus causing an increased risk of contracting various rodent borne infections (viz. Leptospirosis; Plague etc.). El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal on vector-borne diseases due to changes in temperature have direct effects (in form of flood, famine, drought and extreme weather conditions of heat and cold) and indirect effects (in terms of changes in transmission and outbreaks of infectious diseases, especially of the diseases transmitted by vectors and vehicles) on human health. To mitigate the effect of global climatic change on infectious disease incidences and geographic spread, combined efforts consisting of mitigation to reduce further emissions of greenhouse gas; adaptation of intervention measures to reduce the damage caused by warming and geo-engineering (recycling) to reverse global warming must be properly implemented. In addition, vector control, improved reporting of animal diseases affected by climate change, strengthening of surveillance and disease investigation capacities in human and animal population, association and coordination of Medical and Veterinary institutions with various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as international professional bodies and animal welfare organizations are all crucial to prevent and control emerging infectious diseases linked to global warming. Researchers, scientists, professional, environmentalist, administration, government and persons must work together to overcome this threat. The present paper describes the problem of global warming in general, its causes and multi-dimensional impacts, effect on animal productivity, interaction between climate change, pathogen and vectors, and presents a special focus on important emerging pathogens / infectious diseases of animals and humans being flaring up due to fluctuating environmental conditions, appropriate prevention and control measures to be followed to combat global warming in the current scenario and future perspectives.

  37. Bindhu, S., Dhanesh Kumar, K. U., Avadhani, R. and Jinu Merlin Koshy

    A patent foramen ovale is a connection between the right and left atria that persists after birth. The foramen ovale is found in fetal anatomy normally and closed after birth but can remain open for life resulting in patent foramen ovale. Patent foramen ovale is an embryological remnant of the fetal circulation. Oxygenated placental blood enters the right atrium via the inferior vena cava and crosses the valve of the foramen ovale to enter the systemic arterial system. The inferior vena cava flow preferentially flows toward the inter atrial septum and foramen ovale. At birth, pulmonary vascular resistance and right-sided cardiac pressures drop with a reversal of the right atrium -to-left atrium pressure gradient. The flap of the foramen ovale closes against the atrial septum with fusion usually occurring within the first two years of life. Fusion is incomplete in about 25% of people, resulting in an oblique slit-like defect. Though patent foramen ovale is usually considered non threatening but it can be associated with cerebral ischemic events such as stroke and migraine. A patient can undergo for an ultrasonography to identify patent foramen ovale. When a patent foramen ovale is detected, the patient can receive surgical placement of a closure device.

  38. Suresh T., Rai R. B., Wani M. Y., Damodaran, T. and Dhama, K.

    The present study was designed to investigate and compare the sensitivity of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fluorescent antibody test (FAT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the detection of bovine rotavirus during neonatal calf diarrhea. A total of 112 faecal samples of diarrhoeic calves below three months were collected from organized dairy farms of Namakkal (Tamil Nadu) and Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), India. Out of these, 27 faecal samples (24.10%) were found positive for rotavirus by ELISA and TEM. The percent positivity ranged from 18.86 % to 55.55% in different organized farms. The rotavirus samples when subjected to isolation in MDBK cells resulted in successful isolation of bovine group A rotavirus in twenty samples. The characteristic cytopathic effects (CPE) were observed from second passage onwards and comprised of clumping and rounding of infected cells, detachment of monolayer, intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusions, syncytia and leaving empty vacuole space in MDBK cell line. Rotavirus antigen in cell culture adapted virus was detected by direct fluorescent antibody test (dFAT). The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA and TEM were 100% and 92.32% respectively, considering virus isolation followed by dFAT as standard test. Study indicates that ELISA is most suitable and sufficient test for routine diagnosis of bovine rotaviral as compared to laborious TEM analysis for diarrheic samples; however, isolation of the virus in cell culture remains indispensable for the identification of doubtful specimens. To our knowledge, this is the first report from India employing TEM, ELISA and cell culture based FAT for detection and comparison of these tests for bovine rotavirus group A from diarrhoeic calves.

  39. Management of sub-soil sodicity for sustainable banana production in sodic soil – An approach

    At present about 20 per cent of the world’s irrigated land is salt-affected and 60 per cent of salt-affected soils are sodic. These soils are ameliorated using soluble calcium (Ca2+), which replaces sodium (Na+) at the cation exchange sites of the soil. The displaced Na+ is then leached from the root zone through flushing (excess irrigation) a process that requires adequate flows of water through the soil. Also, most of the reclamation activities are being restricted to the top 0-15 cm which lead to development of secondary salinization and decreases the economic productivity of the soils due to reduced bilological activity in the rhizosphere. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop sub soil sodicity management technologies for commercial banana cultivation (cv Pisang Awak) under pits in sodic soils having pH 9.0 (surface) to 9.47 (sub-surface) by using biological ameliorants in integration with reduced level of chemical ameliorants and to study the mechanism underlying alleviation of salt stress by the plant. Application of 25 GRgypsum in the pits along with CSR-B-3 strain of Bacillus thurigenesis a native rhizospheric bacteria of sodic soil reclaimed the rhizosphere soils up to 60 cm. Their combination with vermicompost alleviated the salt stress in the rhizosphere of the crop which resulted in higher bunch weight of 22.7 kg /plant due to the integrated approach of bio and chemical ameliorant. The pH, bicarbonate, carbonate and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of soil was reduced due to the synergistic activity of ameliorants. The concentration of potassium (K) and other micronutrients increased in the leaves while Na content decreased, resulting in lower Na/K ratio.

  40. Habtamu, T. T. Rathore, R. Dhama, K. and Karthik, K.

    Brucellosis is a notable disease, most widespread bacterial zoonoses that still of veterinarian, public health and economic concern in many developing countries including India. Early detection and segregation of infected animals are important in order to control the disease. The present study was done with the objective of isolation and identification of B. melitensis from naturally infected sheep in Sharanpur District, UP (India) using bacteriological and the classical serological techniques; RBPT, STAT, Modified-STAT and i-ELISA. Out of 145 ovine serum samples collected, 48(33.1%) were found to be positive by RBPT taken as a primary screening test. From 48 positive serum samples, 39(81.25%) were found to be positive by STAT, 37(77.08%) by Modified-STAT and 35(72.92%) by i-ELISA. Thus, i-ELISA showed 4 (8.33%) less positive, reduced doubtful by 3 (6.25%) and showed 7 (14.58%) more negative as compared to STAT and 2 (4.16%) less positive, reduced doubtful by 1 (2.08%) and showed 3 (6.25%) more negative to modified-STAT. On the basis of colony morphology, staining characters, phenotypic and biochemical characterizations, the organisms from clinically infected sheep knee joint fluid and aborted foetal samples were isolated and identified as B. melitensis. In addition, two isolates of B. abortus were also identified from liver sample of aborted bovine foetus.

  41. Habtamu, T. T., Rathore, R., Dhama, K. and Karthik, K.

    Brucellosis is one of the world’s major zoonoses that still is of veterinarian, public health and economic concern in many parts of the world. Brucellosis due to Brucella melitensis is of much public health and economic importance in many developing countries including India and is considered to be the major cause of abortion in small ruminants. The present study was carried out with the objective of cultural isolation of B. melitensis from clinical samples (knee joint fluid and aborted foetal material from 56 animals) collected from a disease outbreak in sheep in Saharanpur District (U.P., India) and its confirmatory detection using molecular tool of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Out of a total number of 56 clinical samples, 42 (75%) bacterial isolates of Brucella spp. were recovered. On the basis of colony morphology, staining characters, phenotypic and biochemical characterizations, the organisms from clinically infected sheep identified as B. melitensis. Further confirmation of B. melitensis done by PCR amplification of IS711 and omp2a target genes gave specific amplicons of 731 bp and 1104 bp fragment sizes, respectively for all the 42 cultural isolates obtained. In addition, using both cultural methods and PCR, 02 (33.33%) isolates of B. abortus were also isolated and identified from liver samples of aborted bovine foetus (n=6) collected from an organized Cattle farm of Bareilly (U.P.). Isolation and confirmatory diagnosis of B. melitensis and B. abortus indicates appropriate prevention and control strategies for this economically important pathogen having zoonotic significance.

  42. Tejpal Singh, Tomar, Y. K. and Singh, K. K.

    An experiment was laid out under mist chamber at Horticultural Research Center, Chauras Campus, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal), Uttarakhand, India, during the month of February, 2011. Three different lengths of terminal stem cuttings (20, 35 and 50 cm) of Bougainvillea glabra cv. Torch Glory were planted in the root trainers after treatments of IBA solutions of 3000, 4000 and 5000 ppm concentrations by quick dip method. Rooting media was prepared by mixing equal amount of sandy soil and FYM. Among all the treatments, maximum number of sprouted cuttings (90.0%), number of sprouts per cuttings (30.22), number of primary roots (33.00), fresh and dry weight of roots were observed under C1L2 (35 cm long cuttings treated with 3000 ppm, concentration of IBA) treatments. The maximum length of sprout per cuttings (3.25 cm), height of plant (63.86 cm), and profuse secondary rooting were found under C1L3 (50 cm long cuttings treated with 3000 ppm concentration of IBA) while diameter of sprouts per cuttings (0.48 cm) was recorded under C3L2 (35 cm long cuttings treated with 5000 ppm concentration of IBA). The maximum number of leaves on new growth (7.48) was observed under C3L3 (50 cm long cuttings treated with 5000 ppm concentration of IBA) treatment. The length of longest root (9.90 cm) was recorded under C2L3 (50 cm long cutting treated with 4000 ppm IBA) treatment, while diameter of longest root (0.13) was recorded under C1L1 (20 cm long cuttings treated with 3000 ppm concentration of IBA). All the cuttings treated with IBA produce callus formation while all the rooted cuttings under the C1L3, C2L1, C2L2 and C2L3 (50, 20, 35 and 50 cm long cuttings treated with 3000, 4000, 4000 and 4000 ppm concentration of IBA, respectively) treatments produce secondary rooting.

  43. Chavan, J. A. and Bhawane, G. P.

    Nickel In the present investigation the effect of plant extracts on biochemical changes in Bacillus thuringiensis infected fifth instar silkworm larvae were studied. The changes in the absorption, digestion and transportation of nutrients in the mid gut of silkworm.

  44. Rekha K. and Merlee Teresa M. V.

    The current project analyzes the requirement of iron for the growth, chlorophyll a content and productivity of three fresh water phytoplankton viz. Chlorococcum humicola, Chlorella ellipsoidea and Scenedesmus bijuga. The test organisms were treated with different concentrations of iron like 0.0075ppm, 0.015ppm, 0.03ppm, 0.06ppm and 0.12ppm supplied in the form of FeCl3. The culture devoid of iron was kept as control. Results obtained revealed the indispensable role of iron for the growth of these organisms as they showed decreased values for all the parameters in iron deficient medium. Optimum concentration of iron for the growth and productivity of Chlorococcum humicola was found to be in the range 0.0075ppm to 0.015ppm and it was 0.015ppm for Chlorella ellipsoidea and Scenedesmus bijuga. Iron scarcity exerted more retarding effect on the growth of Chlorella ellipsoidea. Chlorococcum humicola appeared as more susceptible to the toxic effect of higher concentrations of iron than other two test algae. The above observations suggest that algal species vary in their tolerance to iron.

  45. Ayoade, A. R

    This paper assessed the agricultural production needs of women farmers in Osun state, Nigeria. It is argued that women are responsible for generating food security for their families in developing countries and the contribution of women to agricultural production over the years has been acknowledged. Thus, there is the need to make available to them appropriate production information to enhance their productivity and contribution to agriculture and rural development. To achieve the main objective, the study identified the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, determined the activities carried out under agricultural production by the respondents, identified the respondents’ sources of information, their accessibility to these sources and investigated constraints faced by the women farmers in agricultural production. With a simple random sampling technique, a total of one hundred and four (104) respondents were selected for the study which primary data was obtained through interview schedule based on the stated objectives of the study. Frequency counts, percentages and mean values were used as descriptive statistics while Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to determine the relationship between the socio economic characteristics of the respondents and agricultural production information needs of women farmers. The results of the findings revealed that the mean age of the women farmer was calculated to be 41.25. Also, most of the women farmers had between 5 and 9 members in their household. 75.0% had one form of formal education or the other with 94.2% of the women being married. The most highly accessible sources of information to the women were radio and ADP extension workers. The result of the findings also revealed that the areas where agricultural production informations are needed include record keeping (0.58), linkage with input supply (0.52), and acquisition of land and credit (0.48). A significant relationship was found between house hold size (0.272**), level of income (0.448**) and agricultural production information needs of women farmers. High cost of farm input and insufficient capital were ranked as the most serious constraints. Therefore, the study recommended that Government should try as much as possible to subsidize the cost of farm input so as to increase agricultural production and credit facilities should be made available to women farmers in order to increase their scale of production.

  46. Renuka, K. P., Venkateshwarlu, M., Ramachandra Naik A. T. and Prashantha Kumara, S. M.

    The present study was carried out to evaluate the influence of dietary supplementation of probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus sp.) on growth performance, enzyme activity and water quality parameters of common carp. The Probiotic was isolated from the intestine of common carp. The feeding trail was conducted for 60 days, to determine the effect of dietary probiotic on the growth and health status of fish. The fish with a similar body weight (24±1 gm) were distributed randomly into five treatment groups, which fed a feed containing Lactobacillus sp. in four concentrations viz., 1.0 (T1), 1.5 (T2), 2.0 (T3) and 2.5 (T4) X 107 CFU g-1 feed. The control group (T5) was fed without Lactobacillus sp. for the same period. Blood samples were collected at the intervals of 15, 30, 45, 60 days. The digestive enzymes such as protease, amylase and lipase activity were analyzed. Water quality parameters such as Temperature, pH, Dissolve oxygen, Alkalinity, Hardness, and Ammonia were examined. The Lactobacillus sp treated fish (T3, 2.0 X 107 CFU g_1 feed) showed maximum percentage of growth performance and better enzyme activity than in other groups. The results suggest that Lactobacillus sp. Could be used effectively as a probiotics for the use in aquaculture.

  47. Anuradha S. Kalabhavi

    Chromoblastomycosis is a subcutaneous fungal infection. It is caused by the traumatic inoculation of the skin with pigmented saprophytic moulds. There has been frequent reporting of cases of chromoblastomycosis in recent times. This could be attributed to advances in mycology laboratory diagnostic methods. This has resulted in identification of a large number of species belonging to various genera. There has also been a rise in the immunodeficiency status in the community with more patients being diagnosed with conditions like diabetes mellitus which predisposes them to such rare infections. Also the modern medical therapies are increasing the load of immunodeficient patients which is making a large number of patients susceptible to such rare infections. Although infection is rarely fatal, it is characteristically chronic with a varied clinical presentation. To be diagnosed it requires strong suspicion from the clinician and vigilant observation of the microbiologist. There are several treatment modalities, which are often combined and include long courses of antifungals, surgical excision and destructive physical therapies. The availability of a large number of antifungal agents to treat these infections is rewarding to diagnose these infections. Therefore the clinical, microbiological and therapeutic aspects of Chromoblastomycosis are being reviewed here. We are also discussing the case report of a rare presentation of chromoblastomycosis as phagedenic ulcer.

  48. Sasikumar, C. and Subash, N.

    Petroleum hydrocarbons are widespread in the environment and they have adverse effect on human beings. They are difficult to remove from environment by natural processes. In order to mitigate this problem, the efficiency of microorganisms has been evaluated for the degradation of poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The soil samples were collected from three different places viz., Kolli hills, PAHs contaminated soil and garden soil. Bacterial and fungal strains were isolated from the collected soil samples and the physical parameters of soil were analysed. The ligninolytic activity of the isolated microorganisms were estimated and identified. Fifteen bacterial and seven fungal strains were isolated. Of them, seven bacteria and two fungi showed maximum ligninolytic activity

  49. Nagaraj, R.

    The present study includes the enumeration of floristic (Dicotyledons) survey carried out in Chinnakasampatty Range of Eastern Ghats in Dindigul district, was undertaken for a period of 12 months from June 2012 to May 2013. Totally 139 species belonging to 118 genera distributed among 45 families of dicots were collected.Among 139 species recorded, 67 species of 60 genera belonging to 25 families were polypetalae, 45 species of 38 genera belonging to 13 families were gamopetalae and the rest of 27 species of 20 genera belonging to 7 families are under the subclass of monochlomydeae. Each of the plant materials were tabulated in the order of family followed by Botanical name and their habits.

  50. Narottam Das Agrawal, Kuldeep Agrawal, Saurabh Gupta, Kundan Kumar Chaubey, Sangeeta Shukla, Ramesh Mathur

    Moringa oleifera root extract was screened to encounter the characteristic biochemical and histopathological alterations followed by subchronic exposure to beryllium. Female albino rats were administered beryllium nitrate at doses of 1mg/kg i.p. once a day for 35 consecutive days followed by treatment of different doses of Moringa oleifera (50,100,150 and 200 mg/kg p.o.) for 7 consecutive days. Administration of beryllium nitrate induced oxidative stress resulting in elevation of lipid peroxidation, reduction in reduced glutathione with decrease in the activities of superoxide-dismutase and catalase in liver and kidney. Beryllium nitrate significantly elevated leakage of serum alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), urea, bilirubin and creatinine whereas hemoglobin and blood sugar were decreased. A significant fall was observed in activitities of alkaline phosphatase, adenosine triphosphatase in liver and kidney; glucose-6-phosphatase and glycogen in liver due to beryllium intoxication. Beryllium also disturbed the histoarchitecture of liver and kidney. The different doses of Moringa oleifera root extract reversed the alterations of all the variables more towards the control at biochemical as well as histopathological level. It was concluded that dose of 150 mg/kg of Moringa oleifera was found to be most effective in attenuating beryllium induced oxidative stress, biochemical and histopathological alterations

  51. Selvarani Murugan and Prema Paulpandian

    The use of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) has been gained increasing interest in the area of environmental remediation. Hence the present attempt has been aimed to investigate the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) by adsorption on carboxymethyl cellulose stabilized zero-valent iron nanoparticles (CMC-Feo) from aqueous solutions under different experimental conditions. Nanoparticles were synthesized by reducing Ferrous sulfate heptahydrate (FeSO4.7H2O) using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) in the presence of CMC as a stabilizer. The crystalline size of the respective particles was determined through X-ray diffractogram (XRD) and the size of the particle was found to be 10.77 nm. Morphology of the particles was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results suggested that stabilizer molecules were adsorbed to iron nanoparticles resulting in a steric layer, and thereby, preventing the nanoparticles from agglomeration. The removal efficiency of Cr(VI) was found to be increased with decrease of Cr(VI) concentration (10 mg/L – 25 mg/L) and pH (3 – 10) and inversely with increase in Feo concentration (0.1 g/L – 0.4 g/L) and temperature (15oC – 45oC). The obtained data revealed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) onto CMC stabilized Feo nanoparticles which were found to fit well by the Freundlich isotherm. The kinetic models were then examined with pseudo first order rate reaction. The correlation coefficient between experimental parameters and time showed that there is a strong positive correlation for Cr(VI) reduction. These results suggest that CMC stabilized Feo nanoparticles could be employed as an effective adsorbent for the removal of chromium (Cr) from contaminated water

  52. Altaf Ahmad Reshi and Hidayatullah Tak

    The present study was carried out from September 2011 to August 2012 to detect the prevalence of coccidian infection in lambs of age 1-6 months in different seasons in North Kashmir. A total of 180 samples (84 male and 96 female) were examined for the infection. During the study, it was found that a total of (53.33%) samples were infected with coccidian oocysts. The maximum prevalence was found during summer season (72.9%), followed by autumn (54.5%), (45.6%) in spring and (38%) in winter. Out of 96 examined female samples, (60.4%) were found to be positive and out of 84 male samples (45.2%) were found positive for the infection.

  53. Mosma N. Shaikh and Altafhusain B. Nadaf

    Rhizosphere fungi of 12 basmati rice varieties collected from 11 different localities of North India were isolated, Total 207 fungal strains were obtained that were identified and their pure cultures are maintained. These strains were screened for 2AP synthesis; the principle basmati aroma compound on the synthetic medium proposed by Rungsardthong. 12 fungal species namely Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Nigrospora sphaerica, Nigrospora oryzae, Trichoderma sps. Penicillium sps, Rhizopus oryzae, Fusarium oxyporum, Monilia sitophila, Thielavia terricola were found to synthesize 2AP. 2AP synthesizing fungus (Aspergillus terreus) was taken for qualitative analysis by GC-FID.

  54. Pejman Behdarvand, Chinchanikar, G. S., Dhumal, K. N. and Mohammad Ali Baghestani

    To evaluate the influences of nitrogen levels and weed density on growth indices of wheat a two years field experiment was conducted at Research Field of Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz-Iran in 2007-8 and 2008-9 cropping season. The results showed that increasing nitrogen application from 90 to 210 kg N ha-1 increased the negative interference effects of wild mustard and wild oat on Total Dry Matter (TDM), Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Crop Growth Rate (CGR). Inter specific competition of wild mustard and wild oat significantly decreased the plant height, TDM, LAI and CGR and maximum values were noted in zero density of wild mustard and wild oat. Among the nitrogen levels the highest TDM, LAI and CGR was observed in the application of 150 kg N ha-1.

  55. Osei, K., Adu-Kwarteng, E., Adomako, J., Danso, Y., Agyeman, A., Okyere, F. and Sackey-Asante, J.

    The southern root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita is a major limiting biotic factor affecting plant growth and yield in the tropical and sub-tropical worlds. Synthetic pesticides constitute the principal means to control the menace of the pest. Natural pesticides derived from plant parts offer alternative control strategy due to the identification of nematicidal properties in many flowering plants. A preliminary in vitro experiment evaluated the potential of five plant extracts (pawpaw root, leaf, seed and false yam tuber and leaf) to inhibit the hatching of eggs of M. incognita. Three concentration levels (w/v) that is 2, 4, and 8% of cold aqueous extracts of the plant parts were filtered into 6 cm Petri dishes and Petri dish, infested with 100 M. incognita eggs. Hatching of eggs was monitored over a three time period; 24, 48 and 72 h after infestation of the eggs in the respective aqueous extracts. The best result was obtained with false yam tuber extract in which 0, 3 and 5 eggs hatched while 26, 44 and 76 eggs hatched in distilled water (the control treatment) representing a hatching inhibition of 100, 93 and 93% at the three exposure time and concentration levels respectively. The current study which documents the first attempt at using false yam, Icacina senegalensis to control plant parasitic nematodes is environmentally friendly and cost effective. The formulation of the active ingredients of these botanicals as bio-pesticides would reduce the over-dependence on synthetic pesticides which have deleterious effects on man and the environment.

  56. Javid M. Wani and Azra N. Kamili

    A study of aquatic bacteria along with some physical parameters like temperature and pH was carried out during the month of November and December 2010, in Yusmarg area of Kashmir valley at four sites differing from each other markedly in terms of biotic and abiotic factors, to assess the density and diversity of bacterial flora. During the study the bacterial flora showed variation in relation to the physical parameters. The colony count was maximum at Site IV Reservoir outlet (300) followed by Site III Reservoir Intlet (135), Site I Dudhganga (95) and site II Tank Area (75). The total bacterial population was maximum at Site IV Reservoir outlet (1.8×10⁵ in Nov and 1.2×10⁵ in Dec.) and minimum at Site II Tank Area during both the months (4.5×10⁴ in Nov and 3.0×10⁴ in Dec.). Among the strains of isolated bacteria 28% were Gram positive (GP) and 72% were gram negative (GN). Most dominant of the isolated strains 60% were Cocci followed by 24% bacilli, 12% Diplococci (DC), and 4% Streptococci (SC). It was also found that 12% of strains were Gram Positive Cocci (GPC), 48% were Gram Negative Cocci (GNC), 8% were Gram Negative Bacilli (GNB), 16% were Gram Positive Bacilli (GPB), 12% were Gram Negative Diplococci (GND) and 4% were Gram Negative Streptococci (GNS).

  57. Amit Kumar Chaurasia, Sushmita Chaurasia, Shubha Chaurasia, Shridha Chaurasia and Chaurasia, S. C.

    An attempt was made to find out the effect of different temperatures ranging from 150 C to 450 C on production of polygalacturonase (PG), polymethylgalacturonase (PMG) and cellulase (Cx) enzymes by Alternaria Solani in vitro. The production of polygalacturonase (PG), polymethylgalacturonase (PMG) and cellulase (Cx) enzymes has been recorded between wide range of temperature, i.e. between 150 C to 350 C. At 150 C temperature, the production of these three cell wall degrading enzymes were found to be very low to which increases gradually with the increase in the temperature upto 280 C. The 280 C was found to be the best and favourable temperature for maximum production of these enzymes. Above 350 C, further higher temperature, i.e. 400 C and 450 C have been found to detrimental for the production of all the three enzymes as no trace of polygalacturonase (PG), polymethylgalacturonase (PMG) and cellulase (Cx) enzymes has been detected in culture filtrates.

  58. Arunava Das, Surendran Hemanth, Ashish Rathore, Ramesh Arvind Balakrishnan Madugesh Karthikeyan, and Santhosh Chinnaelasagiri Ramakrishnan

    The present study aims to diagnose the predominant types of Clostridium perfringens from the cases of diarrhoea in cattle from Tamil Nadu. A total of 16 rectal swabs were aseptically collected from same number of cattle and were processed for the isolation and identification of C. perfringens. The molecular typing of the bacteria was carried out by the polymerase chain reaction assay, which revealed the identification of 14(87.5%) C. perfringens isolates from diarrhoeic cattle. The ultrastructure studies of the bacterial isolates in SEM were observed to be in clusters of thick rods with variable in length and mostly occurred in pairs. Out of six toxin genes namely alpha toxin (cpa), beta toxin (cpb), epsilon toxin (etx), iota toxin (iA), enterotoxin (cpe) and beta2 toxin (cpb2) used for typing the isolates, only cpa of 324bp fragment were detected from all the 14 isolates. The PCR result suggested that isolates from the diarrhoeic cattle belonged to the C. perfringens genotype A, which is also the most frequently isolated genotype of C. perfringens in cattle. PCR has established a sensitive and reliable investigative tool for the rapid detection of C. perfringens.

  59. Kaustuv Bhattacharyya and Sudhendu Mandal

    This paper deals with the diversity of the dicotyledonous medicinal plants of the district of Burdwan in West Bengal. One hundred forty one dicotyledonous plants from sixty three different families of the class Magnoliopsida (sensu Takhtajan, 2009) have been investigated. Their families, vernacular names, flowering times, useful parts and common medicinal uses have been discussed here

  60. Dr. Madhumita Purkayastha

    Since the 1970’s, the emergence of a separate and distinct black feminist literary tradition has been instrumental in exploding western literary and critical concepts and practices and has heralded the beginning of a new era in the adoption of unconventional narrative techniques by African-American novelists like Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and Gloria Naylor to name only a few. Significantly, these authors have been able to articulate through their innovative narratives the experience of the marginal groups of America, especially that of African-American* women, so long unheard and suppressed in the body of American Literature. Also, deriving from the oral heritage of folk tales, myths and lore, of slave narratives, spiritual songs and gospels, blues and jazz music (always a dominantly Negro* domain) and of a varied and complex black* experience in America, their narratives have captured the verve and vigor of the colloquial speech of real men and women while being evocative and lyrical in their ability to condense and represent the essence of African-American (marginal) experience in America. If “great narratives” or “grand narratives” like history, epic, romance, legend, allegory and even the novel in its traditional sense may be viewed in terms of dominant voices recording the stories of the powerful colonizing forces, the narratives negotiating spaces in history and articulating untold sagas of the oppressed are “little narratives” that tell the stories of the marginalized groups that have hitherto hovered at the periphery of social and political visibility and cognizance. Gloria Naylor, who won the American Book Award in 1983 for her first novel The Women of Brewster Place has represented in all her novels the diversity, richness, whimsicalities, and idiosyncrasies of the African-American experience. Here, an attempt has been made to analyze Gloria Naylor’s Bailey’s Café as a narrative that has represented the disordered urban experience of the Negroes in America, their disillusionment, frustration and pain and their struggle for survival and story of endurance. The paper has also tried to explore how structurally, stylistically and thematically, the narrative of the novel resembles blues and jazz music — music that has traditionally symbolized the essence of black culture and crystallized their emotions and trials and has been regarded as a metaphor for the African-American experience in America (Norton Anthology: 22).

  61. Dr. Dhaval P. Dave and Ms. Rina C. Dave

    Globalization in India (LPG) was to make the Indian economy one of the fastest growing economies in the world. An array of reforms was initiated with regard to industrial, trade and social sector to make the economy more competitive. The economic changes initiated have had a dramatic effect on the overall growth of the economy. It also heralded the integration of the Indian economy into the global economy. The Indian economy was in major crisis in 1991 when foreign currency reserves went down to $1 billion and inflation was as high as 17%. Fiscal deficit was also high and NRI's were not interested in investing in India. Then the following measures were taken to liberalize and globalize the economy. The world has become increasingly interdependent and integrated. It has been the harbinger of radical change. All the fortune 100 companies have a foothold in the world market and reaping large revenues. The trade barriers have been lowered worldwide resulting in expansion of trade, foreign direct investment, exchange of technology, greater movement of people across borders. Globalisation has come with both benefits and losses. The comprehensive review presented shows the importance of it. It should be clear that the increasing importance of globalisation cannot be underestimated or ignored. In more than way globalisation is the need of the hour.

  62. Azeez Taofik Oladimeji, Olaitan Samuel Abiodun, Atuanya Clement Uche, Onukwuli Dominic Okechukwu, Akagu Christian Chukwudi, and Menkiti Mathew Chukwudi

    The increased biomass level of bambara groundnut husk (BGH) in the environment through dumping as a refuge due to high consumption rate of bambara groundnut products has been an environmental concerned. The effect of mechanical properties of the recycled polyethylene (RPE) and recycled polyethylene with 20 percent virgin polyethylene (MPE) was investigated. The weight fractions of the BGH filler loading for this experiment were 10, 20, 25, 30 and 35 percent and processed for the reinforcement of RPE and MPE at 150MPa and 1600C in an injection moulding machine to examine the mechanical properties on the composites. The tensile strength and modulus, flexural strength and modulus, and hardness of the composites increases with increased filler weight fraction of the filler up to 25 percent in the composites and impact strength of the composites decreases with increased filler weight fraction. The increased tensile strength signified that BGH filler may be used for the reinforcement of RPE and MPE. There is significant improvement on the mechanical properties of the MPE composite compared with RPE composite at p < 0.01 and p < 0.05.

  63. Pugazhendy, K., Sujatha, S. P., Jayachandran, K., Prabakaran, S., and Jayanthi, C.

    The effect of cadmium on the biochemical and haematological parameters of Labeo rohita were observed, after exposure to sublethal concentrations of cadmium (51.82 µg/l) for a period of 24, 48, 72 and 96 hrs. The number of white blood cells (WBC) and glucose levels were increased. The numbers of red blood cells (RBC), haemoglobin content, haematocrit, concentration was significantly higher (p>0.05) in the experimental group, compared with the control group. The above results of examination of the blood parameters indicate a marked physiological effect of cadmium in fish.

  64. Rajathi V., Manikandan, H. and Deepa, P.

    The present study is aimed to analyse the physic-chemical parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) salinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and chloride and sulphate were analysed during November 2012 to March, 2013. The temperature was high in March, 2013. pH was high in January,2013. The dissolved oxygen was high in November, 2012 and salinith was more in March, 2013. TDS was more in March and BOD and COD was high in January, 2013. Chloride and sulpahate was high in February, 2013.

  65. Arti Tiwari, and R. S. Upadhyay

    Plant defense mechanisms against necrotrophic pathogens such as Alternaria alternata are considered to be complex and different from those that are effective against biotrophs. Tomato is an economically important vegetable crop affected severely by A. alternata that causes leaf spot, stem canker and fruit rot diseases. In the present work physiological parameters were found to be decreased in tomato plants after infection by the pathogen. The infection also leads to production of reactive oxygen species which are involved in antimicrobial activities for restricting pathogen’s ingression in plants. Hydrogen peroxide production was observed by 3, 3'-diaminobenzidine staining, which showed reddish-brown color precipitation in leaves. Estimation of hydrogen peroxide showed highest level of production of H2O2 after 48 hours after infection and then declined after 48 hour up to 96 hours. Following H2O2 production activities of different antioxidant enzymes namely ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and glutathione s-transferase level were checked which were found to be altered due to ROS production.

  66. Bhat Tanveer, H., Arnold, R. and Mishra, R. M.

    The study was conducted in the Dal lake, which is situated on the northeast of Srinagar at latitude 340,07/ N and longitude 740, 52/ E on the right bank of river Jhelum. Four water- sampling sites (Viz: Hazratbal, Nishat, Nehru park and Nigeen) were selected for study. The water samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, chlorine, hardness, total alkalinity, ammonium nitrogen, sulphate and phosphorus on fortnightly basis for six months. The results showed that the maximum value of pH was observed at Nehru Park (DD3) 10.66±0.21 mg/1 and the minimum 8.14±0.01 mg/1 at Telbal Nallah (DH4) respectively. The conductivity value, an indication of total nutrient concentration, was notably higher at various sites of Dal Lake. The maximum value of conductivity is 426.3±10.12µs/cm and the minimum 186.3±7.11µS/cm at Telbal Nalah (DH4) and near Heemal Hotel (DD2) respectively. The D.O. ranged between 10.31±0.01 mg/l at Centaur hotel (DD4) to 5.0±0.01 mg/1at Telbal nallah (DH4).The turbidity value was recorded to be maximum of 45.02±0.01 at Dhobighat (DH1) and minimum of 1.90±0.00 mg/1 at Central site (DH2). The higher values of C.O.D prevail over the entire lake water, particularly at DH4 of Telbal Nalah 84.33±1.9 mg/1 and the lowest value at DD3 of Nehru park (42.40±6.1 mg/1) respectively. The maximum value of chloride, hardness, total alkalinity, ammonium, nitrogen sulphate and phosphorus was observed at Hazratbal basin. This study has clearly demonstrated that the Hazratbal basin of Dal Lake is highly polluted in comparison to other sites owing to regular addition of urine and human waste dumped into the lake along with run off of chemical fertilizers from the waste drainage basin around it.

  67. Vishalavani Nidagundi, Kusum Paul and Shambhu M. G.

    To counter the data growth, scientists have created curated databases in specific areas. While this is supposed to help scientists to cope with the data explosion, the flood of such bioinformatics resources has created a huge problem. To help scientists in making scientific-database-selection there is an urgent need to compile all resources in one place and provide additional guidance. Such a need is particularly high in the areas of microbiology and some aspects of biochemistry such as carbohydrates and lipids. The current work involved, a) listing the bioinformatics resources relevant to microbiology, carbohydrates and lipids; b) cataloging them systematically and then c) comparing the databases from selected categories. A first time compilation of maximum number of databases has been achieved. A total of 173 microbiology databases have been listed and categorized into viral (28), fungal (23), bacterial (71), antimicrobial peptide databases (4), plant pathogen databases (3) and others (42).

  68. Supreetha, K. V., Shambhu, M. G. and Kusum Paul

    Normal and disease-specific genes can be identified by making use of the existing microarray and RNA (NGS) sequencing data. The study attempts to identify potential biomarkers for the mammalian testis. Available NGS analysis database and software were first compiled and compared. NGS data corresponding to normal human and mouse testes have been collected after careful selection. The read data were aligned using Top Hat tool and ‘Cufflinks’ & ‘Cuffcompare’ tools were then used to obtain the transcript-specific FPKM values. The processed data were compared across different reports, and a score has been assigned to identify the consistent transcripts. The final transcript list was then compared to the microarray data from MgEx-Tdb. The top-scoring transcripts have been identified as the potential biomarkers for the normal human testis. In addition, potential marker transcripts have also been identified for specific testis cell types in the mouse. These in turn could help in detecting any abnormality, and also assist in research towards male contraception. This study has identified four genes which are ACTB, SMC6, PCMT1, SON along with their transcripts as potential biomarkers for normal human and mouse testis. Only certain transcripts show higher expression in normal testis condition and hence genes-transcript pairs can be good biomarkers.

  69. Swatantra Kumar Dubey, Arnab Kundu, Sumit Pal, Vijay Bahadur Yadav and Sajid Ali

    From last three decades, industrial revolution in India on boom. And due to this lot of water quality problem arises. Industries are directly drain the effluents in to the water bodies which degrading the water quality and also life. In Delhi region, Yamuna river is the major sink for the industrial drains. In this context, this paper displays a comparative study of untreated water and treated water of Yamuna River for the water quality assessment.

  70. Ulfat Jan, Mustafa Shah, G. and Muneera Jan

    The effect of different dietary protein levels on growth and feed conversion ratio was studied in the Schizothorax plagiostomus. The fishes weighing 45-52g were reared in happas and fed on experimental diet. In this completely randomized designed experiment, five formulated diets of different dietary protein levels (25%, 30%, 35%, 40% & 45%) were tested. The fishes were fed by hand and fed at 5% of biomass. The results showed that dietary protein had significant effect on body weight, weight gain percent and specific growth rate. The body weight gain and specific growth rate of fishes fed with diet with dietary protein level of 35% was significantly higher (0.05) than that of 25%, 30%, 40% & 45%. The feed conversion ratio varied between 7.5 to 9.6 and was lowest in 35% dietary protein diet. Among the formulated diets evaluated in the present study, 35% dietary protein diet proved best considering the growth and feed conversion ratio of the fishes.

  71. Ayodhya Dattatray Kshirsagar

    A fungal isolate Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus nigricans and Cunninghamella sp. previously isolated from the Mula river, Pune were efficiently utilized for the remediation. The domestic wastewater samples used in this study were collected from sewage wastewater treatment plant Bopodi from Pune city. To study the role of fungi in wastewater treatment, the following method was employed, i) Wastewater treated with Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus nigricans and Cunninghamella sp. and ii) Wastewater treated without Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus nigricans and Cunninghamella sp. (Control). Wastewater was analyzed for pH, BOD, COD nitrate and phosphate before and after wastewater treatment using fungi at various time intervals for 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th days wastewater samples were analysis using standard methods. Result reveled that Aspergillus terreus and Aspergillus niger which showed excellent pollutant removal capabilities. Aspergillus terreus were showed the best removal of nitrate and BOD while Aspergillus niger showed best removal of phosphate and COD capacity from wastewater. Present investigation focuses on the bioremediation of wastewater by using aquatic fungi.

  72. Maqbool, S., Nageena Nazir and Iqbal Jeelani, M.

    The precision of an estimate of the population mean or total, besides sample size depends on the variability among the units of the population. To increase the precision of the estimate, we could divide the population into number of groups (called strata) such that variability within the group is minimum and maximum between the groups. In this paper, we examine the role of stratification in sample surveys and illustrate through a numerical illustration as to how stratification reduces the sampling variance which is the main objectives of a good sampling technique.

  73. Anurag Rawat, Mishra, N. K., Mishra, D. S., Prabhat Kumar, Rai, R. B. and Damodaran, T.

    For centuries, Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) has been commercially propagated by air-layering. But still, the results are not optimum due to the production of thick and brittle roots by the air-layers, which are sometimes difficult to establish in the nursery and field as well. It is established fact that Litchi quite readily forms natural symbiotic associations with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Despite, the effect of AM fungi on the growth and development of the fruit crops have been studied extensively, still the substantial results are lacking towards the mycorrhizal inoculum optimizations for best desirable effects. So, optimum concentrations of the AMF were worked out in terms of Infective Propagules (IP). In most of the characters leaving apart some characters, which were at par with the other treatments, most of the growth characters and nutrient levels were found to be significantly higher in the plants inoculated with higher concentrations of the AMF which in our case was of 800 IP. All the mycorrhizal treated plants showed good survival with only one mortality. AMF has proved its pivotal role in the development of healthy and vigorous planting material at the nursery level. The results have initiated the first step towards standardizing the optimum dose of AMF which will prove to be quite beneficial to the farmers and a strong impetus for the fruit growing industry.

  74. Vani, V., Laxmi S. Inamdar (Doddamani) and Gopal M. Adi Rao

    In reptiles exhibiting temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), maternally derived yolk steroids may play a role in the sex determination. The present study explores the correlation, if any, existing between hatchling sex ratio and maternally derived yolk steroid hormone concentrations [17β-estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T)] in the lizard, Calotes versicolor, which exhibits a unique FMFM (Female-Male-Female-Male) pattern of temperature-dependent sex determination. Ten clutches of C. versicolor eggs were collected and incubated at two male-producing (MPTs) (25.5±0.5°C & 34±0.5°C), two female-producing temperatures (FPTs) (23.5±0.5°C & 31.5±0.5°C) and at pivotal temperature (28.5±0.5°C). The yolk material was collected from eggs at oviposition (stage 27) as well as at hatching (stage 42) and homogenized. Subsequent to extraction of steroids from yolk, the concentrations of E2 & T were measured by ELISA using specific antibodies for each hormone. Results reveal a noteworthy within season inter-clutch and negligible intraclutch variation in both the yolk steroid hormone (E2 &T) concentrations among the 10 clutches. At oviposition, the steroid profile reveals that the level of T was much higher than that of E2 in all the clutches examined. However, at hatching concentration of E2 was greater than that of T. Eggs incubated at low FPT (23.5±0.5°C) and low MPT (25.5±0.5°C) had low steroid hormone concentrations when compared to the eggs incubated at high FPT (31.5±0.5°C) and MPT (34±0.5°C). Intermediate levels of yolk steroids were observed in eggs incubated at pivotal temperature (28.5±0.5°C). Hence, it is emphasized that high temperature has stimulatory effect on yolk steroid levels in this species. Therefore, based on these findings we conclude that the sex ratios are rather temperature dependent than on the maternal allocation of steroids at oviposition

  75. Sasirekhamani, M., Ebenezer, P., Vijayan, V. and Nirmal Nevedhana, K. B.

    Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib) de Bary is one of the most non-specific, and ubiquitous fungal plant pathogens affecting agricultural crops. This is known to cause some important diseases like white mold, Sclerotinia wilt or stalk rot, or Sclerotinia head rot on a wide variety of broadleaf crops. This pathogen infects about 408 species of plants. The brief study with S. sclerotiorum and its control with Propiconazole, (ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitor) revealed that the fungicide is a potential antifungal and that it affects the biology of the pathogen in a variety of ways. It directly affects the cell and can bring about growth inhibition by impairing one or the other of the vital phenomena. All the vital functions of the fungus appear to have been impeded. The study also revealed that the mode of action of fungicide is not only by inhibiting ergosterol biosynthesis but probably also by an ancillary mode by photo-oxidation of ergosterol wherein, Propiconazole acted as a photo-sensitizer. This study also reveals that Propiconazole, exerted an excellent fungistatic effect at 100 μg/mL concentration on S. sclerotiorum. Therefore, this fungicide could be effectively used for control of the notorious pathogen, S. sclerotiorum at a time when many pathogens are acquiring resistance to different classes of fungicides.

  76. Asha, V. Jaybhaye and Deokule, S. S

    The present study aimed to explain the effect of biotic and abiotic elicitor derived from yeast extract and Salicylic acid on cell suspensions evolved from superior callus lines of G. sylvestre (Retz) R. Br. ex. Schult. Cell suspension cultures maintained in MS liquid medium were treated with 265 cells/ml and 530 cells/ml homogenate of the elicitor on the 14th day. Growth of G. sylvestre callus in terms of biomass revealed 5 fold enhancements when treated with 530 cells/ml. elicitor on fourteenth day in callus line-1. The type of callus line and concentration of the elicitor influence the biomass growth of G. sylvestre callus in suspension culture and gymnemic acid production was accomplish with the help of biotic and abiotic elicitor treatment. (as confirmed by HPTLC analysis)

  77. Anirudha Rishi and Sonam Sneha

    Salinity is one of the major constraints in agriculture which affects the plant growth and productivity. The high concentration of salt in soil causes ion imbalance leading to osmotic stress in plants which further leads to oxidative damage in the plant cell via ROS production. ROS caused damage to the lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. Plants have developed certain mechanisms to resist the oxidative damage caused due to salinity. The genes conferring salinity stress resistances provide foundation for scientific improvement of the plants productivity under arid condition and contribute to improvement and stabilization of plant yield. Molecular genetics and plant transformation has helped in generating salt tolerant plant by modifying the signal cascades, biochemical pathways, specific protein expression or by altering the gene response under natural condition. Salt tolerant transgenic crops have been developed and more work is going on in this direction.

  78. Nte Felix, Michael Chizurumoke and Esi Emmanuel

    Computers have become ubiquitous in our everyday activity in recent years and have been object of study for eventual adverse health effect. In this paper, variations of the induced magnetic fields with distance from liquid crystal display (LCD) computer monitors have been investigated. A total of 10 different LCD monitors of different models were used for this study. The magnetic fields were measured using a TriField Gauss meter at 5cm steps from the screen up to 40cm. The results showed that the induced magnetic fields decreased as distance from the screen increased. It was also found that magnetic fields from the LCDs for desktop computers are lower than laptops. The induced magnetic fields were generally found to be very low and below the hazardous threshold of the International occupational and general public recommended exposure limit. Thus, there is no conclusive evidence from the study that the use of LCD computer monitors could be associated with health hazard such as spontaneous abortion.

  79. S. Shipra , M. Janani, S. Karthikeyan, S. Muralidharan, and B. Sathyabama

    Classification of agricultural products is a necessity for agricultural marketing to increase the speed and minimize the misclassification. One of the main problems in the automation of modern farming and production regards the selection of good fruits from the whole crop. The selection process in the fruits is very difficult in the market through manually. Some attempts at automatic classification using traditional computing resources and algorithms have been made. Unfortunately the average classification times for each orange using such methods are too long for an efficient real-time application. It is easily understood that the classification of fruits based on their digitized images can be improved and simplified if useless details are removed from these images. This paper is based on the phytochemical characterization of the bioactive compounds such that the reference image can be obtained more accurately, because the color and texture of fruits are the result of its composition. And also involves the development of algorithms for quality inspection of oranges by defining three quality classes (extra, I and II) for the fresh oranges. The fruit in the extra class must be of superior quality with no defects and high volume, whereas the classes I and II are moderately and highly defective fruits with less volume respectively. The methodology involves a two step process. The first step is to segment the image into defect and non defect classes by utilizing histogram based thresholding. According to second step three different approaches have been proposed. In the first approach of the second step texture features are extracted from GLCM. Second approach combines color and texture by extracting features from color GLCM.

  80. M. Janani, S. Shipra, S. Karthikeyan, S. Muralidharan, B. Sathyabama

    This paper proposes a new approach for the classification of the power system disturbances using Wavelet-Multi resolution Decomposition and multi-level Support Vector Machine (SVM).The proposed approach is carried out at different serial stages. First, the original signal is decomposed in to the different level using the wavelet multi-resolution analysis (MRA). This decomposed signal is used to find the energy distribution of the wave. Next, the energy feature is used as input vector for training the SVM classifier. The appropriate input feature is used for classify the PQ event using SVM classifier. Multi-Level SVM technique is used to classify Power disturbances. Hence, Power disturbances are detected and classified with higher efficiency.

  81. Zulxhevat Abdija, Suzana Aliu, and Selim Jusufi

    Ecological system depends on every link in the food chain. Last decades the majority of surface water is preserved into canals or collectors of waste water from urban environments. Phosphates and nitrates from artificial fertilizers, different detergents in large amounts reach the surface water and may change the ecological system, which cause the appearance of new types of algae and other aquatic plants. This phenomenon is an indicator of water pollution with phosphates. Object of study of our paper was to define the quantity of phosphates in the water of Lake Ohrid. For this purpose we have made determinations in three sample: Peshtan locality, in the beach of Ohrid and the location near the town of Struga - Kalishta. Phosphates were analyzed by the SF Method UV - VIS-type DR / 2000 Hatch - Lange.

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Libiya
Dr. Muhammad shoaib Ahmedani
Saudi Arabia
DR. MUHAMMAD ISMAIL MOHMAND
United State
DR. MAHESH SHIVAJI CHAVAN
India
DR. M. ARUNA
India
Dr. Lim Gee Nee
Malaysia
Dr. Jatinder Pal Singh Chawla
India
DR. IRAM BOKHARI
Pakistan
Dr. FARHAT NAZ RAHMAN
Pakistan
Dr. Devendra kumar Gupta
India
Dr. ASHWANI KUMAR DUBEY
India
Dr. Ali Seidi
Iran
Dr. Achmad Choerudin
Indonesia
Dr Ashok Kumar Verma
India
Thi Mong Diep NGUYEN
France
Dr. Muhammad Akram
Pakistan
Dr. Imran Azad
Oman
Dr. Meenakshi Malik
India
Aseel Hadi Hamzah
Iraq
Anam Bhatti
Malaysia
Md. Amir Hossain
Bangladesh
Ahmet İPEKÇİ
Turkey
Mirzadi Gohari
Iran