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The article investigates the polymorphism in the leptin gene of mithun. The leptin gene was discovered to be polymorphic with regard to the locus analyzed in a sample size of 126 animals. The BB genotype was found to be highly prevalent in the population with a allelic frequency of 0.8 of B allele. Assessment of nucleotide sequence showed high similarity with Bos indicus and Bos taurus followed by Bos grunniens, Bubalus bubalis, Capra hircus, and Ovisaries.

The article presents a study which examines the association of the polymorphism in serum lysozyme with the serum lysozyme activity in indigenous breeds of sheep. The study uses the gene counting method to determine the serum lysozyme in the Chokla, Malpura, and Muzaffarnagri breeds. Results show that the serum lysozyme gene in Indian breed is polymorphic and is associated in the serum lysozyme activity.

The article reports on a research study conducted by researcher Amit Malik from India, which analyzed the mental health and working conditions of alienists. The study looked at an international sample of psychiatric residents and conducted an online survey using an established depression risk questionnaire to assess rates of depression, suicide ideation and suicide attempts in fully qualified psychiatrists undergoing specialist training.

Introduction: Complete eradication of microorganisms from the root canal and three‑dimensional obturation of the canal space are necessary for a successful root canal therapy. In root canal failures, Enterococcus faecalis is the most often detected bacterium. Microorganisms can be eliminated with the aid of chemical irrigation. Objectives: The current research was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of triphala, neem, and chlorhexidine root canal irrigants. Materials and Method: Mueller‑Hinton agar plates were inoculated with the E. faecalis (ATCC) bacterial culture after it had been cultured overnight in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth. Agar well diffusion was used to measure antibacterial inhibition. After being introduced to their appropriate wells in agar plates, the three research irrigants were incubated for 24 hours at 37°C. Every well’s bacterial inhibition zone was noted. After tabulating the results, statistical analysis was done. Result: When triphala and A. indica extract (neem) were added to chlorhexidine, the highest inhibitory zone against E. faecalis was observed. Conclusion: The herbal remedy triphala and the extract from A. indica exhibited an inhibitory zone when tested against E. faecalis. As a result, these irrigants might be utilized as a substitute for root canal irrigants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims We aimed to investigate the prevalence, pathology, and characterization of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE) in slaughtered pigs of India. Methods and results We collected 1254 morbid tissues (lungs—627 and spleen—627) and 627 heart-blood from 627 slaughtered pigs. The bacterial isolation, antibiogram, virulence gene profiling, and mouse pathogenicity testing were performed for the detection and characterization of SDSE. A total of 177 isolates (heart-blood—160 and tissues—17) were recovered from 627 slaughtered pigs with higher isolation rate in heart-blood (25.51%). The prevalence of SDSE was 11% in morbid tissues by polymerase chain reaction. Majority of isolates showed higher detection of streptolysin O, followed by streptokinase and extracellular phospholipase A virulence genes with higher degree of resistance to azithromycin, clindamycin, erythromycin, and penicillin antibiotics. Mouse pathogenicity testing confirmed virulence based on histopathological lesions and re-isolation of SDSE. Conclusions Our findings highlight the high prevalence of SDSE in slaughtered pigs. The presence of virulence genes and mouse pathogenicity testing confirm their pathogenic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In countries where farming is largely subsistence, no pedigree records of farm animals are maintained at farmers' herd and scientific mating plans are not observed which leads to the accumulation of inbreeding and loss of production potential. Microsatellites have been widely used as reliable molecular markers to measure inbreeding. We attempted to correlate autozygosity estimated from microsatellite data with the inbreeding coefficient (F) calculated from pedigree data in Vrindavani crossbred cattle developed in India. The inbreeding coefficient was calculated from the pedigree of ninety-six Vrindavani cattle. Animals were further grouped into three groups viz. acceptable/low (F: 0–5%), moderate (F: 5–10%) and high (F: ≥10%), based on their inbreeding coefficients. The overall mean of the inbreeding coefficient was found to be 0.070 ± 0.007. A panel of twenty-five bovine-specific loci were chosen for the study according to ISAG/FAO. The mean FIS,FST, and FIT values were 0.0548 ± 0.025, 0.012 ± 0.001 and 0.0417 ± 0.025, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the FIS values obtained and the pedigree F values. The locus-wise individual autozygosity was estimated using the method-of-moments estimator (MME) formula for locus-specific autozygosity. The autozygosities ascribing to CSSM66 and TGLA53 were found to be significantly (p <.01 and p <.05, respectively) correlated with pedigree F values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study that investigated the effects of the polyherbal product Yakrifit in different physical forms on the growth performance of post-weaned Ghungroo piglets in India. Yakrifit has been used for its hepatoprotective, hepatoregenerative, hepatostimulant properties and growth enhancing activity. Findings show that Yakrifit supplementation can help improve the growth rate of piglets.

Pasteurella multocida is widely distributed in all pig-rearing countries, affecting the economic viability and profitability of pig production. The present research highlights the molecular characterization and pathology of untypeable capsular serotypes of P. multocida in slaughtered pigs from prominent pig-rearing states of India. The prevalence of Pasteurellosis was 27.17% by Pasteurella multocida specific Pasteurella multocida specific PCR (PM-PCR). assay, while isolation rate was 7.62%. The microscopic lesions of bronchopneumonia, tonsillitis, and the presence of bacterial antigens in immunohistochemistry confirmed P. multocida with pathologies. In capsular typing, the majority of the isolates were untypeable with prevalence of 52.15% and 43.58% in molecular and microbiological methods, respectively. All the isolates showed the uniform distribution of virulence genes such as exbB, nanB, sodC, plpB, and oma87 (100%), while the variations were observed in ptfA, hasR, ptfA, pfhA, hsf-1, and plpE genes. The untypeable isolates showed higher prevalence of hsf-1 gene as compared to others. The untypeable serotypes showed a higher degree of resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin, and penicillin antibiotics. The mouse pathogenicity testing of untypeable capsular isolates confirmed its pathogenic potential. The higher frequency of pathogenic untypeable isolates with antibiotic resistance profile might pose a serious threat to the pigs, and therefore, preventive measures should be adopted for effective control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on developing a hole-filling technique for difference co-array (DCA) of the co-prime array and its variants. In existing methods, obtaining DCA uses vectorization of the covariance matrix obtained from received signals employing Khatri–Rao product. For the co-prime array (CA) family, the DCA so obtained consists of a set of virtual contiguous elements and multiple non-uniform virtual elements. Till now, the DOA estimation from the CA family considers only virtual contiguous elements of the DCA, leaving out "holes" and other virtual non-uniform elements. This existence of holes results in a substantial decrease in consecutive degrees of freedom than expected. To address the issue of holes (in the DCA of CA family), this paper extends the original DCA of augmented CA to obtain a new virtual DCA called A C A EDCA . The A C A EDCA is virtually hole-free. Compared to DCA of the existing CA family, the resulting A C A EDCA has a larger effective DOF. Therefore, the aperture length compared to other existing variants of the co-prime array is also larger. Simulations compare performances of 9 element ACA using A C A EDCA with few other arrays of the CA family. With and without using A C A EDCA , the ACA respectively resolves 43 and 14 sources. Sliding extended CA and relocating extended CA respectively determine 22 and 25 sources. Similarly, the root-mean-square error performance of ACA using A C A EDCA is better compared to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the urban heat island (UHI) studies are carried out in densely populated cities but core industrial areas are also potential sites of heat island effect despite having a comparatively lower population. In the present study, heat island assessment has been carried out for Angul-Talcher industrial area (ATIA) which is one of the oldest industrial areas of India and is still undergoing a transformation to accommodate more industries and mining operations. As the major contributors towards influencing local meteorology were expected to be industrial (and mining) activities, the heat island was studied as "industrial heat island" (IHI) rather than urban heat island. Industrial and mining sites were the most frequent nighttime canopy-layer heat island intensity (HIN) hotspots due to anthropogenic heat of associated industrial processes as well as built structures. During the daytime, croplands experienced the most frequent canopy-layer HIN hotspots which could be attributed to low moisture of the soils during the non-farming period of the field campaign. Hourly maximum atmospheric heat island intensities were observed in the range of 7–9 °C. Monthly maximum HINs ranged from 2.97 to 4.04 °C while 3-month mean HINs varied from 1.45 to 2.74 °C. Amongst different land use/land cover classes, the highest mean canopy-layer heat island intensity for the entire 3-month-long duration of field campaign during nighttime was assessed at the mining sites (3-month mean 2.74 °C) followed in decreasing order by the industrial sites (2.52 °C), rural and urban settlements (2.13 °C), and croplands (2.06 °C). Corresponding daytime canopy-layer heat island intensity was highest for the croplands (2.07 °C) followed in decreasing order by the mining sites (1.70 °C), rural and urban settlements (1.68 °C), and industry (1.45 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serotype identification occupies the central part of foot and mouth disease (FMD) diagnosis workflow and vaccination decision tree. In this study, a reverse transcription-multiplex PCR (RT-mPCR) strategy wherein three assays with unique combinations of serotype specific primers targeting the VP1 region was developed to differentiate FMD virus serotypes O, A and Asia 1 based on differential size of the PCR amplicons on agarose gel. Their diagnostic performance relative to the mPCR assay in use in India was evaluated on 169 clinical samples and 210 cell culture grown virus isolates. The relative diagnostic sensitivity was found to be 99.69%, 98.78% and 99.08% for primer combinations 1, 2 and 3, respectively. These assays proved their worth by detecting serotype in three FMD suspected specimens that went undiagnosed in the existing mPCR and also by identifying multiple serotypes in the same sample. Their detection limits varied from log 10 2 to log 10 4 viral RNA dilution and from 100 to 0.1 TCID 50 virus depending on the serotype. The validated novel mPCR assays show promise to be included in the routine diagnostic tool-box to augment the efficiency of diagnosis of FMD virus serotypes that display extreme genetic diversity and a tendency of transboundary dispersal. • Multiplex PCR (mPCR) to differentiate FMD virus serotypes O, A and Asia 1 developed. • Serotype specific primers designed at VP1 produce differentially sized PCR products. • Relative diagnostic sensitivity were 99.69%, 98.78%, 99.08% compared to mPCR in use. • The assays detected serotype in additional FMD suspected samples and mixed infection. • The validated novel mPCR could be a back-up diagnostic to enhance serotyping efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers science related news briefs. It is mentioned that Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Varanasi India and the Sastra University in Tamil Nadu, India is using Raman spectroscopy for probing of Thanjavur painting. The article adds scientists from IIT-Mumbai, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia developed low cost homemade soil moisture sensor and research on probiotic properties of microorganisms isolated from idli batter.

The article offers science news briefs as of 2018. Topics discussed include estimation of variability and inheritance patterns of wood quality traits in rubber trees, use of Clitoria ternatea known as the shankha pushpi or butterfly pea in folk medicine, and use of compost as biofertilizer for soil amendment.

A non-blinded randomized clinical trial was conducted to assess the immunomodulatory potential of β-glucan (BG) in piglet diarrhoea associated with type A rotavirus infection. A total of 12 rotavirus-infected diarrheic piglets were randomly divided into two groups: wherein six rotavirus-infected piglets were treated with supportive treatment (ST) and other six rotavirus-infected piglets were treated with BG along with ST (ST-BG). Simultaneously, six healthy piglets were also included in the study which served as control. In rotavirus-infected piglets, marked increase of Intestinal Fatty Acid Binding Protein-2 (I-FABP2), nitric oxide (NOx), Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) concentrations and decrease of immunoglobulin G (IgG) were noticed compared to healthy piglets. The faecal consistency and dehydration scores were significantly higher in rotavirus-infected piglets than healthy piglets. The ST-BG treatment progressively reduced the I-FABP2 and increased the IgG concentrations over the time in rotavirus-infected piglets compared to piglets received only ST. A pronounced enhancement of NOx and IFN-γ concentrations was observed initially on day 3 and thereafter the values reduced on day 5 in ST-BG treated piglets in comparison to piglets which received only ST. Additionally, ST-BG treatment significantly reduced faecal consistency and dehydration scores on day 3 compared to ST in rotavirus-infected piglets. These findings point that BG represents a potential additional therapeutic option to improve the health condition and reduce the piglet mortality from rotavirus associated diarrhoea where porcine rotavirus vaccine is not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing urban land use dynamics and associated anthropogenic heat (AH) has increased warming over urban centres. This warming is associated with the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and is mainly studied in major cities worldwide. However, predominantly industrial regions can also experience heat island effect due to heat emissions from industrial infrastructure and associated activities. The current study examines the role of the urban morphology and anthropogenic heat over the Angul-Talcher region (industrial region) of Odisha state, India. The region is also referred to as India's highly polluted industrial cluster due to open cast mining and industries. In the present study, Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) coupled with Single-Layer Urban Canopy Model (WRFUCM) has been modified to examine the impact of urban morphology and anthropogenic heat on the heat island effect over the region. The study refers modified version of WRFUCM as the WRFAH[Gridded] model, which incorporates anthropogenic heat from different industries with stack height information. It was found that the WRF model capabilities have improved in simulating surface meteorological variables such as temperature at 2 m, wind speed, and relative humidity with the inclusion of gridded AH. Urban canopies were estimated to bring in an increase of up to 0.77°C in local near-surface temperatures during daytime and up to 2.12°C during nighttime. AH emissions further increased temperatures by up to 0.32°C during daytime and 0.69°C during nighttime. Maximum heat island intensity with urban canopies is estimated to be 5.62°C which increases to 7.11°C with the inclusion of average AH released at canopy level. However, this has significantly improved to 5.88°C with inputs of industry-specific AH released at stack heights with the WRFAH[Gridded] model against observed maximum heat island intensity of 6.06°C. Overall, the influence of urban morphology was found to be higher than the influence of AH over the region at ground level, and the inclusion of gridded AH in the model showed improved performance for the heat island assessment. • Influence of urban canopy and anthropogenic heat towards heat island effect in an industrial area. • Code of WRF-UCM modeling system modified to incorporate individual industrial AH emissions at stack height. • Urban canopies and AH emissions bring in an estimated increase of up to 2.8°C in local near surface temperatures. • Modified WRF-UCM version improves the default model's over-estimation bias by about 1.2°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an extremely contagious and economically devastating viral disease of cloven-hoofed domestic and wildlife animals. The disease is endemic in India and other developing countries of the world. The disease is mainly characterized by the presence of vesicular lesions and "tigroid heart" in calves. The current report describes the novel pathologic findings along with the distribution of FMDV antigens in brain of young calves naturally infected with FMDV. The carcasses of 37 calves suspected to have died from FMD were presented for postmortem investigation. Out of 37 dead calves, 10 calves showed the clinical signs of neurological abnormalities like opisthotonos, muscle twitching and tremor in hind limbs, stiffening of the neck followed by death. Microscopically, the meninges were congested, hemorrhagic, and infiltrated with mononuclear cells. The various sub anatomical sites of the brain showed the varying degrees of vascular changes, perivascular cuffing, focal to diffuse gliosis as well as degeneration and neuronal necrosis, indicating the nonsuppurative encephalitis. The immunolabeling of FMDV antigen was demonstrated in the neurons, inflammatory cells, and microglial cells besides its typical locations. The neurons of the brain also showed strong immunopositivity for caspase-3, caspase-9 and p53 and negative for Bcl-2 and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) by both immunohistochemistry and western blotting indicating the role of caspase mediated intrinsic, and p53 dependent apoptotic pathway. Further, the TUNEL assay also confirmed the apoptosis in the neurons and glial cells of the brain of naturally infected calves. This study in calves establishes a basis for resemblance to other members of Picornaviruses, such as Enterovirus 71 and Coxsackievirus of humans and showing the neuropathological alterations along with the distribution of FMDV antigens associated with apoptosis in younger calves. • FMDV exhibits CNS affections besides vesicular lesions and myocarditis. • Meningoencephalitis, immunolocalization of FMDV antigens along with the molecular detection in the brain confirms the neurotropism of FMDV. • FMDV shares similar mechanistic of actions of EV-71 & Coxsackievirus of humans. • Caspase mediated intrinsic pathway and p53 dependent pathways play role in FMDV mediated neuronal apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a research conducted by R. Geetha Ramani from the College of Engineering and K. Priya from Rajalakshmi Engineering College, for identifying the automatic music classification with genetic algorithm. It mentions about extracting of features such as MEL frequency, pitch, and zero crossing rate using Fourier transform. It mentions that parameters such as beat, harmony, tempo, centroid, and timbre are not necessary if the genetic algorithm is used to classify music.

The article focuses on a research conducted by R. Preetha and Shruthy Ramesh from the SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur in India based on the use of potato peel as packaging and as an alternative to plastic. It mentions that cellulose nanoparticles in potato peel determine the quality of the packaging. It mentions about extracting cellulose nanoparticles from peel using an arduous process of alkaline treatment, bleaching, and acid hydrolysis to remove the lignin.

The article discusses focuses on a research conducted by Anuj Ranjan from the Amity University, Noida, India in collaboration with researchers from South Korea for controlling obesity with Moringa oleifera leaf extract. It mentions that ability of the moringa leaf ethanolic extract and active principle, isoquercetin, to reduce adipogenesis and promote apoptosis in mouse cell lines.

The article discusses a group of scientists from the Sikkim University and IIIM have collaborated with the forest department of Arunachal Pradesh, India for assessing the impact of future dams. It mentions about the use of ENVIREM, an online tool, to reconstruct the environmental niche; and mentions about modelling the environmental niche to predict the distribution of Lagerstroemia minuticarpa, an endangered flowering tree.

The article discusses the life-threatening condition septic shock or sepsis caused by the infection-related response of the body, including the threats due to vitamin D deficiency.

The article discusses the anti‐inflammatory properties of the plant Trichosanthes tricuspidata, commonly known as red ball snake gourd and scientific evidence of its action against snake bite.

The article discusses the amount of rain that India gets on a yearly basis, June-September monsoon stretch, actual rain within two-week span leading to a flood. It also discusses thousands of dams in the country, including the preventive measure of rainwater drainage to seas by scientists.

The article focuses on a methodology proposed by R. Vidhyapriya and Rose S. Lovelyn from the PSG College of Technology on using a modified Gabor filter and the Expectation Maximisation Algorithm to extract patterns and creases from the knuckle. It mentions that the system becomes immune to human errors due to rotation and orientation, and performs accurately under any lighting condition by using a K-means algorithm to extract local features.

The article focuses on a research conducted by Keshab C. Mondal and team from the Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India based on anti-inflammatory and healing properties of probiotics and bacteria in the human gut. It mentions that traditional fermented foods with high health and nutritional benefits are rich probiotic sources. It also mentions that people with ulcers need no permission to consume traditional fermented foods.

The article focuses on a research conducted by S. Poongodi from the Dr SNS Rajalakshmi College of Arts and Science and M. Rajesh Babu from the Karpagam College of Engineering based on crop yield from a field using data mining and a clustering algorithm. It mentions that farmers in Coimbatore, India can use the results to reduce chances of low yield and crop failure.

The article focuses on a research conducted by Charmi and Jitendriya from the Shri A. N. Patel Post Graduate Institute of Science and Research based on using an edible coating for extending the shelflife of vegetables. It mentions that treated cucumbers had increased proline content and indicating more tolerance to stress.

The article focuses on a research conducted by Sonal Bindal and Chander Kumar Singh from the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi detecting arsenic in each hand pump and bore well in India. It mentions that predicting arsenic hazards using artificial intelligence can reduce efforts and costs; and moderate and low-risk regions making targeted mitigation measures in highrisk regions possible.

The article examines how cyclones impact coastal cities in India. It mentions about the effects of the strongest and destructive tropical cyclone of 2014 in the North Indian Ocean and Hudhud made landfall in Visakhapatnam, India on October 12, 2019. It also mentions about the influence of cyclone on phytoplankton production and landfall location and characteristics govern how cyclones affect coastal waters.

The article discusses the biodiversity hotspot Kodagu or Coorg in Karnataka located at the Western Ghats housing hundreds of trees and animals in its tropical forests. It also discusses the major cash crop coffee of the region that grown traditionally under the shade of indigenous trees, including the role of coffee plantations in conserving flora and fauna of this region.

The article discusses the relationship between the aquaculture industry and disease outbreaks, antibiotic application to deal with an infection, and the development of drug-resistant pathogens.

The article discusses the report revealed by the specialized agency World Health Organization in 2015 on the statistics of people in India suffering from type II diabetes.

The article discusses the overall health status of an individual by the differential blood count.

The article discusses the pain-relieving ayurvedic formulation Peedantak Vati containing 23 ingredients.

The article discusses the pattern of rainfall in the Indian state of Karnataka due to the state is divided into two parts by the presence of the Western Ghats, including the government launched a massive cloud seeding program Varshadhare launched by the state government. It also discusses the evaluation report of the program conducted by the scientists of the research institute Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.

Objectives: To investigate the outcome of the loading direction and implant tilting on the micromotion and displacement of immediately placed implants with finite element analysis (FEA)., Materials and Method: Eight blocks of synthetic bone were created. Eight screw-type implants were inserted, four axially and four slanted, each measuring 11 mm in length and 4.5 mm in diameter. The axial implants and the tilted implants were distally inclined by 30°. The top of the abutment was subjected to 180 N vertical and mesiodistal oblique (45° angle) loads, and the displacement of the abutment was measured. The abutment displacement and micromotion were estimated, and nonlinear finite element models simulating the in vitro experiment were built. In vitro studies and FEA data on abutment displacement were compared, and the reliability of the finite element model was assessed., Result: Under oblique stress, abutment displacement was larger than under axial loading, and it was also greater for tilted implants than for axial implants. The consistency of the in vitro and FEA data was satisfactory. Under vertical stress, the highest micromotion values in the axial and tilted implants were extremely near., Conclusion: Under mesiodistal oblique stress, tilted implants may have a smaller maximum amount of micromotion than axial implants. The loading direction had a significant impact on the highest micromotion values. The abutment displacement values were not reflected in the maximum micromotion measurements., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences.)

Aflatoxins, particularly AFB1, are the most common feed contaminants worldwide, causing significant economic losses to the livestock sector. The current paper describes an outbreak of aflatoxicosis in a herd of 160 male young goat kids (3-4 months), of which 68 young kids succumbed over a period of 25 days after showing neurological signs of abnormal gait, progressive paralysis and head pressing. The haematobiochemical investigation showed reduced haemoglobin, leucocyte count, PCV level, increased levels of AST, ALT, glucose, BUN, creatinine and reduced level of total protein. Grossly, kids had pale mucous membranes, pale and swollen liver; right apical lobe consolidation, and petechiation of the synovial membrane of the hock joints. The microscopic changes were characterized by multifocal hemorrhages, status spongiosus/ vacuolation, vasculitis, focal to diffuse gliosis, satellitosis, and ischemic apoptotic neurons in different parts of the brain and spinal cord. These changes corresponded well with strong immunoreactivity for AFB1 in neurons, glia cells (oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and ependymal cells) in various anatomical sites of the brain. The higher values of LPO and reduced levels of antioxidant enzymes (Catalase, SOD, GSH) with strong immunoreactivity of 8-OHdG in the brain indicating high level of oxidative stress. Further, the higher immunosignaling of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in the brain points towards the association with intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. The toxicological analysis of feed samples detected high amounts of AFB1 (0.38ppm). These findings suggest that AFB1 in younger goat kids has more of neurotoxic effect mediated through caspase dependent intrinsic pathway., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Reference gene with stable copy number is essential for normalization in qPCR based copy number assay. Present study aims to identify a suitable reference gene in pigs for qPCR based relative copy number profiling of chromosomal genes. A total of 30 crossbred pigs of both sexes were cyto-screened and gDNA was extracted from the pigs having numerically normal karyotypes. The copy number stability was studied for 7 genes (FSHB, IL4, IGF1R, TCF24, BRMS1L, ARMC1 and SRSF4) selected on the basis of the chromosomal location, reports of single copy and lack of involvement in structural chromosomal abnormalities. The copy number was estimated from Ct values in 3 technical replicates using 6 animals from either sex for each gene. The stability was evaluated from the variations in Ct values using different (Delta Ct, geNorm, BestKeeper and normFinder) algorithms. While the moderate variation was observed among relative copy number stabilities among the genes, comprehensive ranking revealed the most stable gene for normalization (IGF1R > FSHB > TCF24 > IL4 > ARMC1> SRSF4 > BRMS1L) across the samples. The selected reference gene was validated using DNA of cyto-screened pigs to find out ratio of X and Y chromosome fragments using qPCR based copy number analysis.

The Foot-and-Mouth disease is highly contagious acute viral disease of livestock inflicting huge economic loss to the farmers. The limited knowledge regarding the pathological lesions vis-a-vis distribution of the FMDV in lesser explored endocrine glands and important vital organs other than the target organs of infected calves prompted us to take the present investigation to have detailed insight into the pathogenesis. The systematic necropsy of 37 dead calves (cattle-28 and buffalo-9) was conducted, and thin representative tissue pieces from the affected organs were collected in 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF) for pathological and immunohistochemical investigations. The genomic detection and its serotyping were done by RT-PCR and multiplex-PCR, respectively. Necropsy examination in all cases showed myocardial lesions resembling 'tigroid heart appearance'. Other organ specific lesions include vesiculo-ulcerative stomatitis, edema of the lungs, petechial hemorrhages, edema of the endocrines, and gastroenteritis. Histopathological examination showed varying sizes of vesicles and ulcerations in stratified squamous epithelium of the tongue, acute necrotizing myocarditis, lymphoid depletion in lymphoid tissues, hepatitis, pancreatitis, thymic hyperplasia, thyroiditis, adrenitis, and enteritis. Positive immunolabeling for viral antigens was observed in endocrine glands, lymphoid organs, lungs, liver, kidneys, and intestine, in addition to other typical locations. The thyroid, adrenal glands, and pancreas, in addition to the tongue and heart, are the tissue of choice for sampling in the field during epidemics. Further, the viral genome and serotype A was confirmed in the affected tissues. This study provides insights into novel tissue tropism and pathogenesis in young calves naturally infected with FMDV.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a major disease of livestock in India and causes huge economic losses. The formal FMD control program started in 2003-04 in selected districts and was gradually expanded. The present study provides a descriptive review of the FMD outbreaks, prevalent serotypes, and genetic and antigenic features of the FMD virus (FMDV) that circulated in the country between 2011 and 2020. FMD outbreaks were regularly reported in cloven-hoofed domestic livestock and wildlife, with three serotypes including O, A, and Asia1. During the study period, a total of 2226 FMD outbreaks were documented and serotypes confirmed. FMDV serotype O dominated the outbreak scenario, accounting for about 92% of all outbreaks, followed by Asia1 (5% of all outbreaks) and A (3% of all outbreaks). Two major epidemics of FMD on an unprecedented scale during the years 2013 and 2018 by serotype O were recorded. The spatial distribution of FMD was characterized by a larger number of outbreaks in the southern region of the country. In an annual-scale analysis, 2020 was the year with the lowest outbreaks, and 2013 was the year with the highest. The month-scale analysis showed that outbreaks were reported throughout the year, with the highest numbers between October and March. The emergence of three major lineages (O/ME-SA/Ind2001d, O/ME-SA/Ind2001e, and O/ME-SA/Ind2018) of serotype O was observed during the period. In the cases of serotype A and Asia1, the appearance of at least one novel lineage/genetic group, including A/G-18/non-deletion/2019 and Asia1/Group-IX, was documented. While serotype A showed the advent of antigenic variants, serotypes O and Asia1 did not show any antigenic diversity. It was noticed during the course of an outbreak that animal movement contributes significantly to disease transmission. Except for 2018, when numerous FMD outbreaks were recorded, the number of annual outbreaks reported after 2016 has been lower than in the first half of the decade, probably due to mass vaccination and COVID-19 pandemic-linked movement restrictions. Even during outbreaks, disease symptoms in ruminant populations, including cattle, were found to be less severe. Regular six-monthly immunization certainly has a positive impact on the reduction of disease burden and should be followed without fail and delay, along with intensive disease surveillance., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The study focuses on development of modified atmosphere packaging for fresh-cut minimally processed cauliflower to increase its shelf-life and enhancing the on-farm value addition by utilizing perforated packaging films along with pretreatments with ozonated water and antimicrobials. The samples were treated with ozonated water, oregano essential oil (antimicrobial), and cinnamon essential oil (antimicrobial). Based on preliminary treatments, the number of perforations made by specially prepared tool was kept as 6 and 12, which represented 5.1 × 10 -5 and 1.02 × 10 -4 % of the total surface area of packages. These perforated packaged samples were stored in cold room at 4 °C temperature for 28 days. The shelf life and quality of treated cauliflower samples were compared with untreated samples. The quality analysis of the samples was carried up to 28 days at 7 days intervals based on their weight loss, headspace gas composition, texture, pH, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, total phenolics, total microbial count, and sensory characteristics. The quality analysis revealed that ozonated water-treated samples at 12 perforations and stored at 4 °C for 28 days were most efficient in keeping it fresh without any significant reduction in quality as compared to the cauliflower stored for one week at normal conditions., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestOn behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author declares that there is no conflict of interest., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2021.)

Short tandem repeats (STRs) are co-dominant, highly polymorphic marker loci, distributed throughout the genome and useful for identification and mapping of QTLs associated with variation in traits of economic significance. Allelic variants were identified in STRs located in close vicinity of cattle QTLs for milk production,, viz. BMS713, BM6404, BM4513, BM121, BM6105, TGLA245, BL1100, BMS1948, BMS711, BM1443, BM1706, BM6438, BM143, BM415, ETH131, ETH 2, and BM1329 in 109 water buffaloes of Murrah breed. All loci except TGLA245 exhibited polymorphism of varying degree. The observed number of alleles, effective number of alleles, PIC value, observed heterozygosity, and expected heterozygosity across all STR loci averaged 4.12 ± 0.22, 3.20 ± 0.22, 0.60 ± 0.04, 0.34 ± 0.05, and 0.66 ± 0.03, respectively. Goodness of fit (chi-square) and likelihood ratio (G square) test demonstrated that the population exhibited a deviation from HWE for all the loci. F IS was positive and ranged from 0.22 to 1.00. Least square analysis of variance exhibited significant effects of BM4513, ETH131, BM713, and BM6105 on first lactational total lactation milk yield, 305-day milk yield, lactation length, and dry period respectively. None of the STRs could exhibit significant effect on peak yield., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

India is home for at least 18 indigenous pig breeds; however, the genetic diversity of Indian pig, Sus scrofa domesticus , population is poorly known. Here, the hypervariable region (HVR) of mitochondrial DNA D-loop (~487 bp) of 214 pigs representing five indigenous and three exotic breeds was sequenced and analysed with reference sequences from other countries. A total of 54 segregating sites among the sequences revealed 56 different haplotypes. Two, 11, eight, seven and six haplotypes were identified with some haplotype sharing in indigenous breeds: Doom, Ghungroo, Mali, Niang-Megha and Tenyi-Vo, respectively. Population pairwise differences (PhiST) (0.409) were found significant ( P <0.001), and variance within breeds (59.1%) was more than that of among breeds (40.9%). Similar topology was noted in phylogeny and median-joining network. Indian domestic pigs from this study were found to possess unique and highly differentiated haplotypes on network analysis. The diverse haplotypes and phylogenetic lineages identified here is the first report on Indian pig breeds that need to be further explored by complete mitochondrial DNA sequencing and analysis. These findings provide indicative insights for conservation and optimum utilization of the porcine genetic resources.