Search

The present study was conducted in Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh where Nyishi is the major tribal people cultivating bamboo species closely interwoven with the life of the people. The study explained the socio economic characteristics of bamboo growers of the area. A multistage random sampling technique was followed for selection of 160 bamboo growers to study the Socio economic characteristics of bamboo growers in Papum pare district of Arunachal Pradesh. The data were collected from four study circles viz., Balijan, Kimin, Toru and Sagalee with the help of a pre-tested structured survey schedule by personal interview method. The results reveals that Nyishi bamboo growers are middle age group (78.75%), Medium land holding size farmers (35.63%), having average annual income (Rs. 32375.41) and middle class of socio economic status (64.38%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was undertaken to map the distribution of Anapalsma species infection in cattle from the Aizawl region of Mizoram, India, in relation to various risk factors, and to study the haemato-biochemical alterations, oxidant/antioxidant status and serum trace mineral levels in cattle with naturally occurring Anapalsma marginale infection. The study was carried out over 31 months from June 2019 to December 2021. A total of 401 cattle blood samples were collected and screened for the presence of Anaplasma spp. by microscopic examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Non-infected clinically healthy cattle (n = 21) served as control. Blood samples were collected to study the haemogram and serum samples were used for the evaluation of biochemical parameters, oxidative stress indices and trace minerals. During the study period, an overall prevalence of 15.71% was recorded for A. marginale infection in cattle. The prevalence of A. marginale infection was highly associated with age, sex, breed and tick infestation status of animals, floor system and management of farms, and season. The mean values of total erythrocyte count (TEC), haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), total platelet count, total protein, albumin, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were significantly (P < 0.05) lower, whereas the mean values of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine and lipid hydroperoxide (LPO) were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in cattle infected with A. marginale. A negative correlation of TEC with LPO, and a positive correlation with SOD, GSH, TAC, Cu and Zn suggest a possible link between oxidative stress and the haemolytic crisis noticed in bovine anaplasmosis. Incorporation of antioxidants and organ protective drugs as an adjunct therapy may result in better prognosis., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study aims at synthesizing gelatin A-pectin complex coacervates and encapsulation of theophylline in the polymer system. Variation and optimization of different reaction parameters such as pH, ratio between the polymers and cross-linker concentration was carried out to attain higher product yield. Relative viscosity, turbidity and UV-visible measurements were done for optimization. The optimum ratio between gelatin A-pectin was fixed at weight ratio 42:8 and pH=3.5. It was further observed that adhesion between the microcapsules decreased by the use of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC) to the coacervate. The synthesized microcapsules were characterized by using spectroscopic techniques to assess their formation, drug loading and chemical interaction between theophylline and coacervate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the formation of microcapsules. Study relating to the encapsulation efficiency and swelling of the complex coacervates were also carried out.

Background: Elderly population in India is increasing fast which indicates a growing share of population with more special needs for health and support. Understanding the morbidities and health-seeking behavior of elderly is essential for strengthening geriatric health-care services delivery., Objectives: The objective of this study was to study the morbidity profile of elderly in urban slum areas and assess their health-seeking behavior., Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban slums of Jorhat district of Assam, among 125 elderly selected by simple random sampling., Statistical Analysis Used: The statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square and proportions., Results: The most common morbidity found was arthritis (70.4%) followed by visual impairment (58%). Majority (83.7%) were seeking treatment for their health problems. Among those elderly who did not seek treatment, the most common reasons given were "lack of money" (81.2%) and "not feeling necessary to go to doctor as conditions were age related" (62.5%)., Conclusions: More than two-third of slum-dwelling elderly in the present study were suffering from chronic morbidities; a few could not afford proper health care due to lack of money and self-medication practices were prevalent among some. This stresses the need to provide suitable health facilities and affordable health care to the elderly in slum areas to ensure their active aging. Living arrangement of the elderly was found to have significantly influenced their health-seeking behavior. Strategic implementation of policies focusing on the problems and beliefs of slum-dwelling elderly which prevent them from seeking healthcare is the need of the hour., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

A fundamental goal ingenomics is the discovery of genetic variation that contributes to disease states or to differential drug responses. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection has been the focus of much attention in the study of genetic variation over the last decade. These SNPs typically occur at a frequency greater than 1% in the human genome. Recently, low-frequency alleles are also being increasingly recognized as critical to obtain an improved understanding of the correlation between genetic variation and disease. Although many methods have been reported for the discovery and scoringof SNPs, sensitive, automated, and cost-effective methods and platforms for the discovery of low-frequency alleles are not yet readily available. We describe here an automated multicapillary instrument for high-throughput detection of low-frequency alleles from pooled samples using constant denaturant capillary electrophoresis. The instrument features high optical sensitivity (1 x 10(-12) M fluorescein detection limit), precise and stable temperature control (+/- 0.01degrees C), and automation for sample delivery, injection, matrix replacement, and fraction collection. The capillary array is divided into six groups of four capillaries, each of which can be independently set at any temperature ranging from room temperature to 90 degrees C. The key performance characteristics of the instrument are reported.

DNA variants underlying the inheritance of risk for common diseases are expected to have a wide range of population allele frequencies. The detection and scoring of the rare alleles (at frequencies of <0.01) presents significant practical problems, including the requirement for large sample sizes and the limitations inherent in current methodologies for allele discrimination. In the present report, we have applied mutational spectrometry based on constant denaturing capillary electrophoresis (CDCE) to DNA pools from large populations in order to improve the prospects of testing the role of rare variants in common diseases on a large scale. We conducted a pilot study of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 gene (CTLA4) in type 1 diabetes (T1D). A total of 1228 bp, comprising 98% of the CTLA4 coding sequence, all adjacent intronic mRNA splice sites, and a 3' UTR sequence were scanned for unknown point mutations in pools of genomic DNA from a control population of 10,464 young American adults and two T1D populations, one American (1799 individuals) and one from the United Kingdom (2102 individuals). The data suggest that it is unlikely that rare variants in the scanned regions of CTLA4 represent a significant proportion of T1D risk and illustrate that CDCE-based mutational spectrometry of DNA pools offers a feasible and cost-effective means of testing the role of rare variants in susceptibility to common diseases.

A novel method is described for the measurement and analysis of fluorescence decays of individual cells and particles in flow. It combines the rapid measurement capabilities of a flow cytometer and the robust measurement and analysis procedures of time-domain fluorescence-lifetime spectroscopy. For excitation we use a cw laser that is pulse modulated by an electro-optic modulator. The characteristics and the repetition rate of the excitation pulses can be easily adjusted to accommodate fluorescence decays with a wide range of lifetimes.

In frequency-domain lifetime spectroscopy, the apparent fluorescence lifetimes obtained from phase-shift measurements are independent of modulation frequency only in the special case of a single exponential fluorescence decay. For heterogeneous fluorescence decay, the apparent fluorescence lifetimes measured by the phase-shift methods are functions of the modulation frequency. This modulation-frequency dependent property of apparent fluorescence lifetimes may be used to identify heterogeneous fluorescence decays by measuring lifetimes at multiple frequencies. In this article we explore the requirements and experimental design considerations for making such measurements in flow. We report a phase-sensitive flow cytometric method that allows one to probe the excited state-lifetimes of labeled cells by using multiple simultaneous modulation frequencies. Application of this method is demonstrated by measuring fluorescence lifetimes of labeled cells at two frequencies simultaneously, using a continuous-wave, dual-frequency modulated excitation in flow. The dual-frequency method presented herein can be used to rapidly identify heterogeneity in the fluorescence decay on a cell-by-cell basis in real time. Information on the nature of the fluorescence decay is important in biological measurements because it can provide insight into intermolecular interactions at the subcellular level.

We have developed a method for fluorescence lifetime measurements in a flow cytometer based upon the amplitude demodulation of the fluorescence signals using digital data acquisition techniques. Amplitude demodulation is one of the two methods by which excited state lifetimes may be investigated in the frequency domain. The other method involves the phase-shift measurements. In frequency-domain measurement techniques, the amplitude-demodulation and phase-shift data serve mutually complementary roles to enhance the analytical capabilities of the measurements. The purpose of having amplitude demodulation measurement capability is to obtain information that supplements, rather than replaces, that obtained by the phase-shift method alone. Application of amplitude demodulation measurements has been widely explored in static, cuvette-based, frequency domain systems. However, due to time dependence of the amplitude of the modulated fluorescence signal in a flow cytometer, the amplitude demodulation measurements in flow turns out to be more complicated than similar measurements in a static system. The goal of the present work is to explore the problems involved in amplitude demodulation measurements in flow (using digital method), through detailed theoretical modeling and use the model to develop a practical method that can be incorporated into a flow cytometer to measure amplitude modulation lifetimes. We experimentally verify the amplitude demodulation measurement capability of this method using fluorescent microspheres. The experimental measurements show good agreement with static frequency-domain measurements on microspheres in bulk suspensions.