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Enterotoxaemia (ET) is a severe disease that affects domestic ruminants, including sheep and goats, and is caused by Clostridium perfringens type B and D strains. The disease is characterized by the production of Epsilon toxin (ETX), which has a significant impact on the farming industry due to its high lethality. The binding of ETX to the host cell receptor is crucial, but still poorly understood. Therefore, the structural features of goat Myelin and lymphocytic (MAL) protein were investigated and defined in this study. We induced the mutations in aromatic amino acid residues of ETX and substituted them with aliphatic residues at domains I and II. Subsequently, protein-protein interactions (PPI) were performed between ETX (wild)-MAL and ETX (mutated)-MAL protein predicting the domain sites of ETX structure. Further, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies were performed for both complexes to investigate the dynamic behavior of the proteins. The binding efficiency between ‘ETX (wild)-MAL protein’ and ‘ETX (mutated)-MAL protein complex’ interactions were compared and showed that the former had stronger interactions and binding efficiency due to the higher stability of the complex. The MD analysis showed destabilization and higher fluctuations in the PPI of the mutated heterodimeric ETX-MAL complex which is otherwise essential for its functional conformation. Such kind of interactions with mutated functional domains of ligands provided much-needed clarity in understanding the pre-pore complex formation of epsilon toxin with the MAL protein receptor of goats. The findings from this study would provide an impetus for designing a novel vaccine for Enterotoxaemia in goats. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus -2 (SARS-CoV-2) and is responsible for a higher degree of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a smaller number of approved therapeutics available to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the virus is evolving at a fast pace. So, there is a continuous need for new therapeutics to combat COVID-19. The main protease (M Pro ) enzyme of SARS-CoV-2 is essential for replication and transcription of the viral genome, thus could be a potent target for the treatment of COVID-19. In the present study, we performed an in silico screening analysis of 400 diverse bioactive inhibitors with proven antibacterial and antiviral properties against M pro drug target. Ten compounds showed a higher binding affinity for M pro than the reference compound (N3), with desired physicochemical properties. Furthermore, in-depth docking and superimposition revealed that three compounds (MMV1782211, MMV1782220, and MMV1578574 ) are actively interacting with the catalytic domain of M pro . In addition, the molecular dynamics simulation study showed a solid and stable interaction of MMV178221 -M pro complex compared to the other two molecules (MMV1782220, and MMV1578574). In line with this observation, MM/PBSA free energy calculation also demonstrated the highest binding free energy of -115.8 kJ/mol for MMV178221-M pro compound. In conclusion, the present in silico analysis revealed MMV1782211 as a possible and potent molecule to target the M pro and must be explored in vitro and in vivo to combat the COVID-19.

BACKGROUND Snakebite is an acute life-threatening time limiting medical emergency. In spite of the availability of optimum treatment in modern medicine, a major proportion of the victims of snake bite in India die. We wanted to study the clinical and demographic profile of snake bites, ratio between poisonous and non-poisonous bites, complication and mortality, along with various factors affecting the prognosis. METHODS This is a prospective observational study of 150 patients aged>15 years. Patients with h/o snake bite & patients presenting with clinical features suggestive of snake venom toxicity were included in the study. RESULTS Incidence of snake bites was most common (60%) in the age group of 21 - 40 years & was more common in males (60%). Maximum number of patients (76.67%) was from the rural areas. Maximum number of cases (66.87%) occurred during July to September. 40% cases were poisonous and 60% were nonpoisonous. In the poisonous group, all patients developed neuroparalytic features. Overall mortality among hospitalized patients was 5.33% while in poisonous group it was 13.33%. CONCLUSIONS Public needs to be educated about pattern of behaviour of snakes, care while moving in night specially in fields, not to sleep on floors, not to waste time in seeking remedies from ojhas.

Background The plant growth is influenced by multiple interactions with biotic (microbial) and abiotic components in their surroundings. These microbial interactions have both positive and negative effects on plant. Plant growth promoting bacterial (PGPR) interaction could result in positive growth under normal as well as in stress conditions. Methods Here, we have screened two PGPR’s and determined their potential in induction of specific gene in host plant to overcome the adverse effect of biotic stress caused by Magnaporthe grisea , a fungal pathogen that cause blast in rice. We demonstrated the glucanase protein mode of action by performing comparative modeling and molecular docking of guanosine triphosphate (GTP) ligand with the protein. Besides, molecular dynamic simulations have been performed to understand the behavior of the glucanase-GTP complex. Results The results clearly showed that selected PGPR was better able to induce modification in host plant at morphological, biochemical, physiological and molecular level by activating the expression of β-1,3-glucanases gene in infected host plant. The docking results indicated that Tyr75, Arg256, Gly258, and Ser223 of glucanase formed four crucial hydrogen bonds with the GTP, while, only Val220 found to form hydrophobic contact with ligand. Conclusions The PGPR able to induce β-1,3-glucanases gene in host plant upon pathogenic interaction and β-1,3-glucanases form complex with GTP by hydrophilic interaction for induction of defense cascade for acquiring resistance against Magnaporthe grisea. Graphical abstract Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, India | Ref. 4-1/2013-A&P Universidade de Vigo | Ref. 501100006761

We assessed the impact of socio-economic factors on age at menarche among the adolescent female population from the state of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Records such as date of birth, chronological age, caste affiliation, size of place of residence, parents’ level of education and occupation, number of siblings, body height and weight, and age at menarche were collected for 330 students of A Central University, Sagar. The impact of socio-economic factors on age at menarche was analysed using analysis of variance. To establish the probability of menarche occurrence at a given age, time-to-event analysis was carried out using Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test for curve comparison. The association between probability of attaining menarche and the independent variables was investigated using Cox proportional-hazard model. ANOVA and the Kaplan-Meier curves showed statistically significant differences in age at menarche according to size of the place of residence, number of siblings, parental level of education, father’s occupation and females’ BMI. The Cox proportional hazard model revealed that father’s occupation was the strongest factor affecting age at menarche among all SES characteristics under study. Irrespective of rapid economic progress over the past few decades, Indian society is still patriarchal with societal male dominance. This translates into participation of fewer women in the paid workforce and labour market, their lower wage rates and smaller contribution to the household budget compared to their male counterparts.

This research paper deals with production of biodiesel by transesterification using induction heating process. Optimization of process parameters for biodiesel production to obtain maximum yield using Taguchi technique has been performed, and the effect of changing molar ratio, time of reaction and power of the induction heater have been investigated, and the results are discussed. Signal-to-noise ratio, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and orthogonal array are implemented for its determination. Comparison for yield of biodiesel produced, optimal time and specific energy consumption has been made between different methods of biodiesel production such as induction heating, microwave irradiation, mechanical stirring and ultrasonic cavitation. The optimal time for maximization of yield was found to be 60 s, optimal molar ratio 8:1 and optimal power was found to be 1600 W for a yield of 92.45% for a sample size of 100 g which is comparable to other methods. The SEC of biodiesel formed by induction heating method was found to be 281 W h/kg which is lesser than magnetic stirring and hydrodynamic cavitation and comparable to ultrasonic cavitation.

Background: Growth study of children is proxy to health of any population. Growth status of a child is a reflection of the overall health of the society, hence growth assessment is considered as the best way to evaluate the health and nutritional of the children. The growth and development of a child is influenced by both-genetic and environmental factors. Aims and Objectives: This paper tries to assess the growth of stature, sitting height, body weight, head length and breadth in terms of annual increment among children aged 11-19 years of Rongmei Naga tribe of Manipur state of Indian Union Material and Methods: Data was collected by door to door survey methods during Dec 2016 to Jan 2017 using anthropometer rod, weighing machine and spreading caliper. The data was collected in a semi-structured scheduled. The samples were from Tarung Village of District West Imphal of Manipur State. A total 61 boys and 53 girls were measured to achieve the goal. Results: There were differences in growth between boys and girls of Rongmei Naga, but boys were observed to be less growth than girls in most cases. Discussion: Analysis of growth data based on anthropometric measurements shows that mean values of height were observed to be lower than the standard mean values of height of the same age groups of WHO.. The present study indicates that there is no sexual dimorphism among Rongmei Naga adolescents in height vertex, body weight, sitting height, head length and head breadth (barring a few exceptions). This is a very unique finding as it is in contradiction to the worldwide studies which show majority of the populations has sexual dimorphism in these measurements. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the mean values of anthropometric measurements (Body weight, height, sitting height, maximum head length and head breadth,) increase with the age, but at different rate at the different age levels. The difference in pattern of growth among male and females was found to be non-significant.

Objectives We aimed to test whether birth season is associated with age at menarche in the sub-tropical climate of Central India where temperature and photoperiod differences between seasons are very small. Methods Date of birth and age at menarche were collected for 330 female students of Central University, Sagar. The impact of birth month and birth season on age at menarche was analyzed using ANOVA and time-to-event analysis with the use of the Kaplan-Meier curve. Results ANOVA, Kaplan-Meier estimation and Cox Proportional Hazard did not show statistically significant differences in age at menarche according to birth month and birth season. Conclusions Constant sun exposure during the whole year, related to a stable vitamin D amount and to equal access to fruits and vegetables, may translate into a lack of association between seasons and age at menarche.

Hypothyroidism is a clinical syndrome resulting from deficiency of thyroid hormones in the target tissues. . Primary hypothyroidism is common worldwide especially in iodine deficient areas like India. In non-endemic areas chronic autoimmune thyroidectomy and destructive treatment of thyrotoxicosis are common. . The yearly incidence of spontaneous hypothyroidism per 1000 was estimated to be 3.5 and 0.6 in females and in males respectively 1 . The cardiovascular abnormalities associated with thyroid dysfunction, remain barely unattended which ultimately lead to heart failure and death. Here we have made a modest attempt to define the clinical spectrum of hypothyroidism with special reference to cardiovascular manifestation Aims and Objectives: 1. To study correlation of symptomatology with serum thyroid hormone levels. 2. To study the cardiovascular changes associated in hypothyroidism. 3. To study co-morbid condition associated with hypothyroidism Methods and Material: This study was conducted on 100 patients admitted in S.G.M.H. REWA, >12 years of age showing signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism or known case of hypothyroidism and detailed history, physical examination, thyroid profile, ECG, 2D-echocardiography were done. Result: The most common ECG feature was nonspecific ST-T wave changes in 77.61% Low voltage complexes were seen in 37.31%, prevalence of low voltage complexes was higher in the group with TSH levels >10 mili IU/l, pericardial effusion was present in 37.5% and left ventricular hypertrophy in 23.43%. the prevalence of pericardial effusion was higher in the group with TSH levels >10 mili IU/l,the clinical parameters were more abnormal in the group with TSH levels >10 mili IU/l Conclusion: Hypothyroidism is a multitude of clinical presentations involving various systems in the body. cardiovascular disease are very common among these patients physicians should suspect hypothyroidism from the subtle signs and symptoms of the disease so that an early diagnosis and timely treatment is initiated.

Actinomycetes, a Gram positive bacteria, well reported as a source of antibiotics, also possess potential to control various plant pathogens, besides acting as plant growth promoting agent. Chemicals in different forms are extensively being used in vegetable farming, adversely affecting the environment and consumer health. Microbial agent like actinomycetes can substantially replace these harmful chemicals, and have now started finding a place as an important input in to farming practices. Only selected vegetable crops belonging to 11 different families have been explored with use of actinomycetes as biocontrol and plant growth promoting agent till now. It provides ample opportunities to vegetable researchers, to further explore with use of this very important group of microorganisms, in order to achieve even higher production level of safe vegetables. Mycostop and Actinovate are two actinomycetes based formulations globally available for use in vegetable farming as a substitute for chemical formulations. Present review article has summarized the literature available on use of actinomycetes in vegetable farming. Existing wide gap in knowledge, and potential thrust areas for future research have also been projected.

Cyanobacteria, one of the oldest groups of known organisms, are photosynthetic prokaryotes. They have existed for about 3.5 billion years, from Pre-cambrian times, and played a significant role in oxygen accumulation in the Earth’s early atmosphere making it fit for the survival of aerobic life-forms. Their unique ability, the ability to fix nitrogen and carry out oxygen-evolving photosynthesis and oxygen-labile nitrogen fixation within the same organisms, has always fascinated researchers (Mitsui et al. 1986). During their long evolutionary history, cyanobacteria have been able to adapt to geochemical and climate changes as well as anthropogenic disturbances (Paerl and Otten 2013). They probably exhibit the widest range of diversity in growth habitats of all photosynthetic organisms, and have developed CO2 concentrating mechanisms which adapt them to various environmental limitations (Badger et al. 2006). With an estimated global biomass of 3 9 10 g C, or 10 g wet biomass (Garcia-Pichel et al. 2003), quantitatively they are also some of the world’s most important organisms (Whitton 2012). Many of the species, however, remain to be discovered (Nabout et al. 2013), and cyanobacteria remain a neglected component of biodiversity research (Rejmankova et al. 2004). Global warming will have a profound impact on cyanobacterial biodiversity, probably favouring them over other phytoplankton (Carey et al. 2012), increasing cyanobacterial blooms formation (Wagner and Adrian 2009), and also favour toxin producing species or elevated toxin concentration by extant species with severe consequences for associated ecosystem services (Kleinteich et al. 2012). Lake warming with reduced water turnover and a changed nutrient ratio too will also favour the growth of harmful filamentous cyanobacteria (Posch et al. 2012) and their dominance will affect ecosystem functioning and community turnover in nutrient-enriched lakes (Filstrup et al. 2014). As cyanobacteria have significant ecological roles, their biodiversity need to be fully explored and conserved

A synthetic cry 1 Ac gene coding for an insecticidal crystal protein (ICP) of Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ) was transferred to tomato by cocultivating cotyledonary explants with Agrobacterium tumefaciens . Transformant plants resistant to kanamycin were regenerated. Hybridization experiments demonstrated gene integration and gene copy number in the transgenic plants. Double-antibody sandwich ELISA analysis revealed high levels of Bt ICP expression in the leaves of transgenic plants. The expression resulted in a high level of protection of transgenic plant leaves and fruits against the larvae of tomato fruit borer ( Helicoverpa armigera ). Limited field trial of the transgenic plants (T 1 generation) confirmed the high levels of insect protection.

Indian scientists must develop domestic genetically modified crops rather than rely on unsuitable foreign technology, says Anurag Chaurasia.

Corrigendum to: “Transgenic tomato plants resistant to fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner)” [Crop Prot. 19 (2000) 307e312] A.D. Mandaokar , R.K. Goyal , A. Shukla , S. Bisaria , R. Bhalla , V.S. Reddy , A. Chaurasia , R.P. Sharma , I. Altosaar , P. Ananda Kumar a,* National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India Department of Vegetable Crops, University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan 173 230, India c International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi 110 067, India Department of Biochemistry, University of Ottawa, 40 Marie Curie Private, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Revisions to India’s national school curriculum could boost analytical skills and well-being, says Anurag Chaurasia. Revisions to India’s national school curriculum could boost analytical skills and well-being, says Anurag Chaurasia.