Studies on the management of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita -wilt fungus, Fusarium oxysporum disease complex of green gram, Vigna radiata cv ML-1108

Studies were conducted under pot conditions to determine the comparative efficacy of carbofuran at 1 mg a.i./kg soil, bavistin at 1 mg a.i./kg soil, neem (Azadirachta indica) seed powder at 50 mg/kg soil, green mould (Trichoderma harzianum) at 50.0 ml/kg soil, rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens) at 50.0 ml/kg soil against root-knot nematode,Meloidogyne incognita-wilt fungus,Fusarium oxysporum disease complex on green gram,Vigna radiata cv ML-1108. All the treatments significantly improved the growth of the plants as compared to untreated inoculated plants. Analysis of data showed that carbofuran andA. indica seed powder increased plant growth and yield significantly more in comparison to bavistin andP. fluorescens. Carbofuran was highly effective against nematode, bavistin against fungus,A. indica seed powder against both the pathogens and both the bioagents were moderately effective against both the pathogens.     

Foreign exchange risk management by Indian IT companies:an empirical analysis

The increased volatility in the foreign exchange market in recent years has increased the foreign exchange risk faced by companies worldwide. This phenomenon holds good in the Indian context also. This paper tries to report on the foreign exchange risk-management practices among Indian IT (information technology) companies. The results are consistent with expectations that foreign exchange risks faced by Indian IT companies is very high especially in the light of the recent appreciation of the rupee against the USD and most of the companies are using all the available techniques to mitigate the risks. The evidence suggests that the forward cover is the most widely used derivative instrument in managing the risks and the respondents taking part in the survey believe that the government is failing in maintaining a stable exchange rate.     

Circadian Time Structure of Circulating Plasma Lipid Components in Healthy Indians of Different Age Groups

The circadian rhythm of human circulating lipid components was studied under nearnormal tropical conditions in 162 healthy volunteers (103 males and 59 females; 7 to 75 years of age). They followed a diurnal activity from about 06:00 to about 22:00 and nocturnal rest. These volunteers were divided into four groups: Group A (7–20 years), Group B (21–40 years), Group C (41–60 years) and Group D (61–75 years), comprising 42, 60, 35 and 25 participants, respectively. A marked circadian rhythm was demonstrated for each studied variable in each group by population-mean cosinor analysis (almost invariably p < 0.001). Furthermore, circadian rhythm characteristics were compared among the 4 groups by parameter tests and regressed as a function of age, separately for males and females. A second-order polynomial characterized the MESOR of HDL cholesterol, phospholipids and total lipids, as well as the 24-h amplitude of total cholesterol and phospholipids. The 24-h amplitude of total lipids decreased linearly with age. The 24-h acrophase of the oldest age group (Group D) was advanced in the case of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and total lipids, whereas that of phospholipids was delayed. Mapping the circadian rhythm (an important component of the broader time structure or chronome, which includes a. o., trends with age and extra-circadian components) of lipid components is needed to explore their role in the aging process in health.     

Effect of feeding Carica papaya (Papita) fruits on blood lipid profile of albino rabbits

Effect of feeding ripe and unripe papaya fruit pulps were investigated on blood lipid profile of normal male adult albino rabbits by giving them pulps separately at the dose of 15 and 30g per day along with standard diet over a period of six weeks. As compared to controls both fruit pulps resulted in highly significant (p<0.001) and consistent lowering of serum cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides and elevation in phospholipids and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at 1,3 and 6 weeks of fruit pulp feeding indicating a dose dependent effect. Observations clearly support medicinal value ofC. Papaya in the management of atherosclerosis, fatty liver, ischaemic changes and consequential myocardial infarction.     

Effect of (-)epicatechin in modulating calicum-atpase activity in normal and diabetic human erythrocytes

Aqueous extract of the wood ofPterocarpus marsupium, commonly known as ‘bijasar’, is used in Indian Ayurveda system of medicine for treatment of diabetes. The active anti-diabetic principle in its aqueous extract has been found to be (-)epicatechin, a flavonoid. The present work was undertaken to study the effect of (-)epicatechin on erythrocyte membrane Ca⁺⁺-ATPase from type 2 diabetic patients. The activity of erythrocyte Ca⁺⁺-ATPase was significantly lower in type 2 diabetics.In vitro insulin treatment of erythrocyte ghosts, resulted in the increase of Ca⁺⁺-ATPase activity in diabetic patients. Treatment with (-)epicatechin (1mM) resulted in an increase in the activity of erythrocyte Ca⁺⁺-ATPase in both normal individuals and type 2 diabetic patients. The insulin like effect of (-)epicatechin on erythrocyte membrane Ca⁺⁺-ATPase in type 2 diabetics is an interesting finding. Further work is needed to elucidate the mechanism of action of (-)epicatechin on modulation of erythrocyte membrane bound enzymes.     

Effect of aerobic exercise on lipid profile in dogs

20 male dogs weighing 20–25 kg were assigned an exercise schedule for 2 months. Blood samples were collected before exercise and again at the end of the exercise schedule, thus each dog served as its own control. Physical exercise caused a significant reduction in total lipids, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, whereas unesterified cholesterol (UC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol remained unaffected. However, the ratio of HDL cholesterol to LDL cholesterol raised significantly from 0.36±0.01 to 0.58±0.01. Aerobic exercise also resulted in an increase in creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) level. The results show that aerobic exercise programme can significantly affect serum cholesterol and lipoprotein concentration.     

Xanthelasma Palpebrarum-clinical and biochemical profile in a tertiary care hospital of Delhi

Xanthelasma Palpebrarum is the most common of the xanthomas with asymptomatic, symmetrical, bilateral, soft, yellow, velvety, polygonal papules around the eyelids. Xanthelasmas may be associated with hyperlipidemia. This prospective study included 66 clinically diagnosed patients with Xanthelasma Palpebrarum and 50 controls with non-inflammatory skin disorders. Serum triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL, LDL and VLDL estimated in all cases indicated that patients with Xanthelasma Palpebrarum have underlying lipid abnormalities.     

External quality assessment of RIA for thyroid related hormones

An external quality assessment was conducted for RIA of thyroid related hormones. Thirtyfive laboratories (35 for T₄, 34 for T₃ and 23 for TSH) from different parts of country participated in the programme. Twentyfour samples (16 pools: 5 simple and 11 manipulated pools) in 8 batches, 3 per batch per month were sent for analysis of T₄, T₃ and TSH. Some of the samples were repeated 3 times at different occasions to assess the imprecision of the laboratory. The overall mean percent CV obtained for T₄, T₃ and TSH were 22.7, 36.32 and 52.38 respectively. The recovery for added T₄ was 86.73% while that for T₃ was 117.4%. A large variation was obtained for recovery of TSH. For T₄ estimations, 13 laboratories had a desirable performance i. e. bias less than ±10.0% and variability of bias (VB) and imprecision (IP) less than 15.0%. None of the laboratories had a desirable performance for T₃ or TSH. The number of laboratories with acceptable performance i. e. bias between ±10.0–15.0%, VB and IP between 20.0–25.0% for T₄, T₃ and TSH were 4, 3 and 0 respectively. The number of laboratories which required attention (bias between ±15.0–20.0%; VB and IP between 20.0–25.0%) were 5,7 and 1 respectively. The unacceptable results with larger bias, VB and IP for T₄, T₃ and TSH were 6, 18 and 17 respectively. Our results are in general agreement that the performance of T₄ assay is better than T₃ and both in turn are much better than TSH. Quantitation of circulating thyroid hormones (TH) viz. tri-iodothyronine (T₃), thyroxine (T₄) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which form the largest percentage of hormones estimated in a clinical laboratory is mainly done by radio-immunoassay (RIA) procedures. The reliability and reproducibility of these assays are generally monitored by using internal quality control (IQC) samples in every assay batch. Thus, the IQC provides information whether the assay results are satisfactory and can be released. However, external quality assessment (EQA) is a procedure whereby an external agency undertakes evaluation of the quality of an analytical service by providing samples for analysis to individual laboratories performing the assay. The data gathered is analysed collectively. EQA therefore provides a means by which performance of a laboratory is assessed in relation to other laboratories and matching the assay unbiased by removing systematic error, if present. This is important since RIA procedure involves several steps (collection and storage of samples, quality of the reagents, procedure followed for performance of an assay, counting equipment used and the mode of the data analysis) and therefore prone to systematic errors. We therefore undertook the EQA programme for assessment of thyroid related hormones as a joint collaborative project of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India and International Atomic Energy Agency.     

Elisa based diagnostic test for Aspergillosis

Detection of lgE and lgG antibodies in Aspergillosis is of diagnostic significance. The serological methods, such as agglutination, gel diffusion and counter immuno electrophoresis that are commonly used in the laboratories for diagnosis of Aspergillus induced infections, are less sensitive and high cross reactivity is often encountered. We carried out work on characterization and identification of diagnostically relevant antigens ofA. fumigatus. Well characterized antigens were used to develop an ELISA with 92% sensitivity and 89% specificity for detection of specific lgE and lgG in the sera of patients of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), aspergilloma and invasive aspergillosis. Subsequently, a sample kit having “ready to use type” of dry reagents (powder/tableted buffers and lyophilized antigen, conjugate and reference sera) was formulated. The kit was validated with sera from patients of ABPA, related allergic disorders, tuberculosis, post-Kochs cases and thalassemic children receiving repeated blood transfusions. The performance of the kit was found to be satisfactory with coded sera.     

Type-2 diabetes related intermediate phenotypic traits in north Indian diabetics

Asian Indians are known to be at a higher risk of developing T2DM, but the underlying genetic factor in this population is still not well understood. T2DM is a complex genetic trait and assessment of disease related intermediate phenotypic traits is an important initial step towards any systematic genomic study. Therefore, in the present study we have assessed diabetes related intermediate phenotypic traits of insulin secretion and insulin resistance in the patients belonging to this population. The study included 157 T2DM patients of either sex ranging in age from 45–80 years and 84 non-diabetic subjects with no family history of diabetes, ranging in age from 45 to 75 years served as controls. Intermediate phenotypic traits studied were BMI, W: H ratio, fasting free fatty acid level and Insulin resistance and secretion. Diabetics were found to have significantly higher W: H ratio (p<0.001), FFA (p<0.001) and HOMA-R (p<0.001) as compared to non-diabetics. However, there was no significant difference in their BMI and HOMA-β. There was a positive correlation between FFA level and HOMA-R among diabetics, but not among controls. These findings suggest that in abdominal obesity FFA mediated insulin resistance is an important causative factor underlying T2DM in this population. Moreover, comparable HOMA-β in diabetics reflects compensatory insulin hyper secretion in these subjects. There is a need to examine relative contribution and precise nature of genetic factor in their tendency for central obesity, free fatty acidemia and insulin resistance.