013142   Vafaie-Tabar M;Chandrashekaran S (NO, Cotton Research Institute, P. O. Box 3371635897, Email: shanti@iari.res.in ) : Meiosis in a triploid hybrid of Gossypium: high frequency of secondary bipolar spindles at metaphase II. J Genet 2007, 86(1), 45-9.

Studies on meiosis in pollen mother cells (PMCs) of a triploid interspecific hybrid (3x = 39 chromosomes, AAD) between tetraploid Gossypium hirsumm (4n = 2x = 52.AADD) and diploid G. arboreum (2n = 2x = 26.AA) are reported. During meiotic metaphase I. 13 AA bivalents and 13 D univalents are expected in the hybrid. However, only 28% of the PMCs had this expected configuration. The rest of the PMCs had between 8 and 12 bivalents and between 12 and 17 univalents. Univalents lagged at anaphasc I, and at metaphase II one or a group of univalents remained scattered in the cytoplasm and failed to assemble at a single metaphase plate. Primary bipolar spindles organized around the bivalents and multivalents. In addition to the primary spindle, several secondary and smaller bipolar spindles organized themselves around individual univalents and groups of univalents. Almost all (97%) of the PMCs showed secondary spindles. Each spindle functioned independently and despite their multiple numbers in a cell, meiosis I proceeded normally, with polyad formation. These observations strongly support the view that in plant meiocytes bilateral kinetochore symmetry is not required for establishing a bipolar spindle and that single unpaired chromosomes can initiate and stabilize the formation of a functional bipolar spindle.

3 illus, 5 tables, 14 ref

013141   Vadivukarasi T;Girish K R;Usha R (Centre for Excellence in Bioinformatics, School of Biotechnology, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai-625 021, Email: usha@mrna.tn.nic.in) : Sequence and recombination analyses of the geminivirus replication initiator protein. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 17-29.

Sequence motifs present in the replication initiator protein (Rep) of geminiviruses have been compared with those present in all known rolling circle replication initiators. The predicted secondary structures of Rep representing each group of organisms have been compared and found to be conserved. Regions of recombination in the Rep gene and the adjoining 5' intergenic region (IR) of representative species of Geminiviridae have been identified using Recombination Detection Programs. The possible implications of such recombinations on the increasing host range of geminivirus infections are discussed.

5 illus, 3 tables, 30 ref

013140   Thukral L;Shenoy S R;Bhushan K;Jayaram B (Chemistry and Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics and Computat, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110 016, Email: bjayaram@chemistry.iitd.ac.in) : ProRegIn: a regularity index for the selection of native-like tertiary structures of proteins. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 71-81.

Automated protein tertiary structure prediction from sequence information alone remains an elusive goal to computational prescriptions. Dividing the problem into three stages viz. secondary structure prediction, generation of plausible main chain loop dihedrals and side chain dihedral optimization, considerable progress has been achieved in the laboratory and elsewhere for proteins with less than 100 amino acids. As a part of the on-going efforts in this direction and to facilitate tertiary structure selection/rejection in containing the combinatorial explosion of trial structures for a specified amino acid sequence, described here a web-enabled tool ProRegIn (Protein Regularity Index) developed based on the regularity in the Φ, ψ dihedral angles of the amino acids that constitute loop regions. Analyses the dihedrals in loop regions in a non-redundant dataset of 7351 proteins drawn from the Protein Data Bank and categorized them as helix-like or sheet-like (regular) or irregular. Notices that the regularity thus defined exceeds 86% for Φ barring glycine and 70% for ψ for all the amino acid side chains including glycine, compelling us to reexamine the conventional view that loops are irregular regions structurally. The regularity index is presented here as a simple tool that finds its application in protein structure analysis as a discriminatory scoring function for rapid screening before the more compute intensive atomic level energy calculations could be undertaken. The tool is made freely accessible over the internet.

5 illus, 2 tables, 61 ref

013139   Tatarenkov A;Ayala F (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Dep, California Univ, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA, Email: tatarenk@uci.edu) : Nucleotide variation at the dopa decarboxylase (Ddc) gene in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 125-37.

Authors studied nucleotide sequence variation at the gene coding for dopa decarboxylase (Ddc) in seven populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Strength and pattern of linkage disequilibrium are somewhat distinct in the extensively sampled Spanish and Raleigh populations. In the Spanish population, a few sites are in strong positive association, whereas a large number of sites in the Raleigh population are associated nonrandomly but the association is not strong. Linkage disequilibrium analysis shows presence of two groups of haplotypes in the populations, each of which is fairly diverged, suggesting epistasis or inversion polymorphism. There is evidence of two forms of natural selection acting on Ddc. The McDonald-Kreitman test indicates a deficit of fixed amino acid differences between D. melanogaster and D. simulans, which may be due to negative selection. An excess of derived alleles at high frequency, significant according to the H-test, is consistent with the effect of hitchhiking. The hitchhiking may have been caused by directional selection downstream of the locus studied, as suggested by a gradual decrease of the polymorphism-to-divergence ratio. Altogether, the Odc locus exhibits a complicated pattern of variation apparently due to several evolutionary forces. Such a complex pattern may be a result of an unusually high density of functionally important genes.

5 illus, 4 tables, 40 ref

013138   Sreenu V B;Pankaj Kumar;Nagaraju J; Nagarajaram H A (Computational Biology Lab, Labotatory of Molecular Genetics, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Di, ECIL Road, Nacharam, Hyderabad-500 076, Email: han@cdfd.org.in) : Simple sequence repeats in mycobacterial genomes. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 3-15.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) or microsatellites are the repetitive nucleotide sequences of motifs of length 1-6 bp. They are scattered throughout the genomes of all the known organisms ranging from viruses to eukaryotes. Microsatellites undergo mutations in the form of insertions and deletions (INDELS) of their repeat units with some bias towards insertions that lead to microsatellite tract expansion. Although prokaryotic genomes derive some plasticity due to microsatellite mutations they have in-built mechanisms to arrest undue expansions of microsatellites and one such mechanism is constituted by post-replicative DNA repair enzymes MutL, MutH and MutS. The mycobacterial genomes lack these enzymes and as a null hypothesis one could expect these genomes to harbour many long tracts. It is therefore interesting to analyse the mycobacterial genomes for distribution and abundance of microsatellites tracts and to look for potentially polymorphic microsatellites. Available mycobacterial genomes, Mycobacterium avium, M. leprae, M. bovis and the two strains of M. tuberculosis (CDC1551 and H37Rv) were analysed for frequencies and abundance of SSRs. Analysis revealed that the SSRs are distributed throughout the mycobacterial genomes at an average of 220-230 SSR tracts per kb. All the mycobacterial genomes contain few regions that are conspicuously denser or poorer in microsatellites compared to their expected genome averages. The genomes distinctly show scarcity of long microsatellites despite the absence of a post-replicative DNA repair system. Such severe scarcity of long microsatellites could arise as a result of strong selection pressures operating against long and unstable sequences although influence of GC-content and role of point mutations in arresting microsatellite expansions can not be ruled out. Nonetheless, the long tracts occasionally found in coding as well as non-coding regions may account for limited genome plasticity in these genomes.

2 illus, 4 tables, 40 ref

013137   Singh M R;Gupta A (Life Science Dep, Manipur University, Imphal-795 003) : Home gardens of Kakching, Manipur-a diverse and sustainable agroecosystem. J Econ Taxon Bot 2007, 31(2), 402-10.

Home gardens are the areas surrounding the houses which are planted with a mixture of many plant species of multiple utility and cultural significance. These agroecosystems have great importance for subsistence of the indigenous people and conservation of depleting plant resources. Home gardens maintained by Lois community of Kakching (Thoubal district), Manipur are highly diverse and complex. The flora of the home gardens include herbs, shrubs, trees and climbers which are used for a variety of purposes like food, fodder, timber, fuel etc. Some are used for medicinal, ornamental and socio-cultural purposes also. Lists 120 species of diverse growth forms belonging to 49 families from four home gardens of Kakching.

2 illus, 4 tables, 10 ref

013136   Shobha S K;Wantamutte A S;Katti S M;Mallapur M D;Deepti M K;Yogesh G (Community Medicine Dep, J.N. Medical College, Belgaum, Karanataka) : Health profile of elderly people residing in an urban area of Belgaum. J Scient Soc 2008, 35(1-2), 17-20.

8 ref

013135   Shirazi J (Entomology of Dep, Agricultural Science GKVK Univ, Bangalore-560 065, Email: jalal.Shirazi@gmail.com) : Comparative biology of Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Hymenoptera:Trichogrammatide) on eggs of Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) and Helicoverpa armigera (Hiibner). J biol Control 2007, 21(1), 37-42.

Biology of Trichogramma clilonis Ishii was studied on eggs of its factitious host Corcyra ceplialonica (Stainton) and its natural host Helicoverpu arinigera (Hubner) at 25±1, 65±10 per tent RH and 16:8 h L: D). The developmental period of female progeny was significantly shorter on eggs of C. cephalonica compared to H. armigera. However this trait was not significantly different on both the host eggs when male progeny was considered. Similarly, fecundity of the female parasitoid was significantly higher on eggs of C. cephalonica compared to H. arinigera but the number of female emerging/day was not significantly different between two hosts. Number of male and unemerged progeny was also significantly higher on C. cephalonica compared to H. armigera eggs.

1 illus, 1 table, 21 ref

013134   Shekar M;Karunasagar I;Karunasagar I (Fishery Microbiology, UNESCO Centre for Marine Biotechnology, Karnata, Animal and Fishery Sciences Univ, College of Fisheries, Mangalore-575 002, Email: mircen@sancharnet.in) : Abundance, composition and distribution of simple sequence repeats and dinucleotide compositional bias within WSSV genomes. J Genet 2007, 86(1), 69-73.

3 tables, 22 ref

013133   Sasin J M;Godzik A;Bujnicki J M (Bioinformatics and Protein Engineering Lab, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw, Poland, Email: asia@genesilico.pl) : SURF's UP! - protein classification by surface comparisons. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 97-100.

SURF'S UP! is a web server for analysis of functional relationships in protein families, as inferred from protein surface maps comparison according to the algorithm. It assigns a numerical score to the similarity between patterns of physicochemical features (charge, hydrophobicity) on compared protein surfaces. It allows recognizing clusters of proteins that have similar surfaces, hence presumably similar functions. The server takes as an input a set of protein coordinates and returns fi les with "spherical coordinates" of proteins in a PDB format and their graphical presentation, a matrix with values of mutual similarities between the surfaces, and the unrooted tree that represents the clustering of similar surfaces, calculated by the neighbor-joining method. SURF'S UP! facilitates the comparative analysis of physicochemical features of the surface, which are the key determinants of the protein function. By concentrating on coarse surface features, SURF'S UP! can work with models obtained from comparative modelling. Although it is designed to analyse the conservation among homologs, it can also be used to compare surfaces of non-homologous proteins with different three-dimensional folds, as long as a functionally meaningful structural superposition is supplied by the user. Another valuable characteristic of the method is the lack of initial assumptions about the functional features to be compared. SURF'S UP! is freely available for academic researchers.

1 illus, 11 ref

013132   Rosenbusch B (Gynecology and Obstetrics Dep, Ulm Univ, Pritwitzstrasse-43,89075 Ulm, Germany, Email: bernd.rosenbusch@uniklinik-ulm.de) : Human oocyte chromosome analyses need a standardized presentation of the results. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 173-5.

21 ref

013131   Ravi V;Veeramani T;Kumaresan S S (Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai Univ, Parangipettai-608 502) : Stingray and electric ray (Chondrichthys:Rajforms) diversity along Parangipettai and Nagapattinam coasts, Tamil Nadu. J Aquatic Biol 2007, 22(1), 55-8.

Reports on the distribution of stingrays and electric rays (Chondrichthys: Rajiformes) are rare after tsunami and hence the present study was made in Parangipettai and Nagapattinam coasts. Altogether 12 species of stingrays and 2 species of electric rays were observed in present study. The family-wise contribution revealed that Dasyatidae(7species) dominated, followed by Myliobatidae(3species), Gymnuridae(2species) and Narcinidae(2). Among them, there are distributions of 2 new and rare species (Himantura fai and Gymnura zonura) are found recorded in the present observation.

1 illus, 1 tables, 18 ref

013130   Rangamani P;Iyengar R (Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry Dep, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA, Email: padmini.rangamani@mssm.edu) : Modelling spatio-temporal interactions within the cell. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 157-67.

Biological phenomena at the cellular level can be represented by various types of mathematical formulations. Such representations allow us to carry out numerical simulations that provide mechanistic insights into complex behaviours of biological systems and also generate hypotheses that can be experimentally tested. At present particularly interested in spatio-temporal representations of dynamic cellular phenomena and how such models can be used to understand biological specificity in functional responses. Describes the capability and limitations of the approaches used to study spatio-temporal dynamics of cell signalling components.

7 illus, 29 ref

013129   Ramesha B T;Ravikanth G;Nageswara Rao M; Ganeshaiah K N;Uma Shaanker R (Conservation Genetics Laboratory, Crop Physiology Dep, Agricultural Sciences Univ, Bangalore-560 065, Email: rus@vsnl.com) : Genetic structure of the rattan Calamus thwaitesii in core, buffer and peripheral regions of three protected areas in central Western Ghats, India: do protected areas serve as refugia for genetic resources of economically important plants?. J Genet 2007, 86(1), 9-18.

Given the increasing anthropogenic pressures on forests, the various protected areas - national parks, sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves - serve as the last footholds for conserving biological diversity. However, because protected areas are often targeted for the conservation of selected species, particularly charismatic animals, concerns have been raised about their effectiveness in conserving nontarget taxa and their genetic resources. Evaluates whether protected areas can serve as refugia for genetic resources of economically important plants that are threatened due to extraction pressures Examines the population structure and genetic diversity of an economically important rattan, Calamus thwaitesii, in the core, buffer and peripheral regions of three protected areas in the central Western Ghats, southern India. The results indicate that in all the three protected areas, the core and buffer regions maintain a better population structure, as well as higher genetic diversity, than the peripheral regions of the protected area. Thus, despite the escalating pressures of extraction, the protected areas are effective in conserving the genetic resources of rattan. These results underscore the importance of protected areas in conservation of nontarget species and emphasize the need to further strengthen the protected-area network to offer refugia for economically important plant species.

5 illus, 6 tables, 56 ref

013128   Raghu Prasad Rao M;Vigneshwar R;Sowdhamini R (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Dep, National University of Singapore, Singapore-117 576, Email: mini@ncbs.res.in) : Genome inventory and analysis of nulcear hormone receptors in Tetraodon nigroviridis. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 43-50.

Nuclear hormone receptors (NRs) form a large superfamily of ligand-activated transcription factors, which regulate genes underlying a wide range of (patho) physiological phenomena. Availability of the full genome sequence of Tetraodon nigroviridis facilitated a genome wide analysis of the NRs in fish genome. Seventy one NRs were found in Tetraodon and were compared with mammalian and fish NR family members. In general, there is a higher representation of NRs in fish genomes compared to mammalian ones. They showed high diversity across classes as observed by phylogenetic analysis. Nucleotide substitution rates show strong negative selection among fish NRs except for pregnane X receptor (PXR), estrogen receptor (ER) and liver X receptor (LXR). This may be attributed to crucial role played by them in metabolism and detoxifi cation of xenobiotic and endobiotic compounds and might have resulted in slight positive selection. Chromosomal mapping and pairwise comparisons of NR distribution in Tetraodon and humans led to the identification of nine syntenic NR regions, of which three are common among fully sequenced vertebrate genomes. Gene structure analysis shows strong conservation of exon structures among orthologoues. Whereas paralogous members show different splicing patterns with intron gain or loss and addition or substitution of exons played a major role in evolution of NR superfamily.

3 illus, 1 table, 45 ref

013127   Qi Yan D;Feng-Yu W;Hui-Ying H;Zhong-Jie c (College of Life Science, Henan Normal Univ, Xinxiang Henan-453-007, People's Republic of China, Email: changzhongiie@tom.com) : Cloning and study of adult-tissue-specific expression of sox9 in Cyprinus carpio. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 85-91.

The Sox9 gene is one of the important transcription factors in the development of many tissues and organs, particularly in sex determination and chondrogenesis. We amplified the genomic DNA of Cyprinus carpio using degenerate primers, and found that there were two versions of Sox 9 in this species: Sox 9a and Sox9b, that differ in having an intron of different length (704 bp and 616 bp, respectively) in the conserved HMG box region that codes for identical amino acid sequences. We used a two-phase rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) for the isolation of full-length cDNA of Sox9b. Sequence analyses revealed a 2447-bp cDNA containing 233-bp 5' untranslated region, a 927-bp 3' untranslated region, including poly(A), and a 1287 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein of 428 amino acids. The HMG box of 79 amino acid motif was confirmed from positions 96-174. Sequence alignment showed that the identity of amino acids of Sox9 among ten animal species, including C. carpio. is 75%, indicating that the Sox9 gene is evolutionarily quite conserved. The expression level of Sox9b gene varied among several organs of adult C. carpio, with the level of expression being highest in the brain and testis.

10 illus, 23 ref

013126   Prakash M;Indra V;Karthikeyan V;Karmegam N (Microbiology Dep, Kanchi Shri Krishna College of Arts and Science, Kilambi-631 551) : Bacteriological studies in the fish samples with special reference to Vibrio parahaemolyticus. J Ecobiol 2007, 20(2), 175-8.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, an enterotoxin producing pathogenic bacterium, was analysed of Kanchipuram market, Tamil Nadu. Study showed that a percentage of 37.3 isolates was grown on TCBS media and produced characteristic green colonies. The phenotypic characteristics also showed different degrees of positive results for Vibrios. However, only 20 percent of the isolates of V.parahaemolyticus showed haemolytic activity (Kanagawa positive) on Wagatsuma Blood Agar and thus were pathogenic. The pathogenic V.parahaemolyticus isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, oflaxacin, streptomycin and tetracycline.

1 table, 13 ref

013125   Pawar R;Kulkarni B G (Veer Wajekar Arts, Commerce Science College, Phunde, Uran-400 702) : Diversity of macrobenthos in Karanja creek west coast of India, Raigad, Maharashtra. J Aquatic Biol 2007, 22(1), 47-54.

Total of 93 species of macrobenthos belonging to 69 genera and 44 families were recorded from selected sites along the Karanja creek during present investigation (January 2004 to December 2005). The benthic fauna recorded, is highly diversified, heterogeneous in size and was represented by gastropods, crustaceans, pelecypods, polychaetes, echinoderms, coelenterates, cephalopods and poriferans in order of species abundance. Macro and micro algae of divisions chlorophyta, cyanophyta, rhodophyta, bracillariophyta and pheophyta, dominated the benthic flora of the creek. Exclusive mangrove species recorded from the creek belongs to families Avicenniaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Rhizophoraceae. Among gastropods, Nerita dryzarum, Planaxis sulcatus, Bursa tuberculata were found abundantly whereas Murex adustus , Bursa elegans and Bursa lissostroma were recorded rarely. Among bivalves, Placenta placenta recorded from Karanja creek was with clean, luster white and large shells. Polychaetes like Perinereis cultrifera, Perinereis vancauria and Pseudonereis anamola were commonly reported. Presence of three species of sea lilies (Antedon bifida, Antedon pitasus and Antedon rosacea) and one species of sea urchin (Echinus esculantus) is a unique diversity characteristic from Karanja creek and no earlier reports are available for presence of such a number of echinoderm species in and around Mumbai coast. At present, Karanja creek supports rich diversity of molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms, but in future, measures must be taken for protection and conservation of macrobenthos diversity.

1 illus, 44 ref

013124   Pawar R;Kulkarni B G (Veer Wajekar Arts, Science and Commerence College, Phunde, Uran-400 702) : Microbial diversity in water and sediment of karanja creek west coast of India,Raigad, Maharashtra. J Aquatic Biol 2007, 22(1), 1-10.

Water and sediment samples from Karanja creek were monitored seasonally for coliform bacteria during 2004. The samples were analyzed by Presumptive test, Confirmed tests, Completed test and Biochemical tests like IMViC (Indole test, Methyl red test, Voges-Proskauer test and Citrate utilization test). Standard Plate Count (SPC) for conforms from sediment was found to be much higher than that of water. The data on presumptive test by Most Probable Number (MPN) was high during monsoon than (hat of post monsoon in surface water. IMViC tests were positive, confirming the presence of fecal and non-fecal coliforms. The present study highlights the diversified nature of coliform species namely Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogeaes, Proteus mirabilis and Salmonella typhimurium of family Enterobacteriaceae from water and sediment samples of Karanja creek. Result of present investigation confirms the microbial pollution in Karanja creek to certain extent. This microbial pollution is correlated to the release of untreated or partially treated domestic and industrial wastes. The data presented can be taken as a base line data in knowing the impact of human activity on the creek ecosystem in near future.

1 illus, 4 tables, 33 ref

013123   Pathania A;Rajesh Kumar;Dinesh Kumar V; Ashutosh;Dwivedi K K;Kirti P B;Prakash S;Chopra VL;Bhat S R (National Research Center on Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Institute, New Delhi-110 012, Email: srbhat_nrcpb@iari.res.in) : Dublicated coxI gene is associated with cytoplasmic male sterility in an alloplasmic Brassica juncea line derived from somatic hybridization with Diplotaxis catholica. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 96-101.

A cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) line of Brassica juncea was derived by repeated backcrossing of the somatic hybrid (Diplotaxis catholica + B. juncea) to B. juncea. The new CMS line is comparable to euplasmic lines for almost all characters, except for flowers which bear slender, needle-like anthers with aborted pollen. Detailed Southern analysis revealed two copies of coxl gene in the CMS line. One copy, coxl-l is similar to the coxl gene of B. juncea, whereas the second copy, coxI-2 is present in a novel rearranged region. Northern analysis with eight mitochondrial gene probes showed altered transcript pattern only for the coxl gene. Two transcripts of 2.0 and 2.4 kb, respectively, were detected in the CMS line. The novel 2.4 kb transcript was present in floral bud tissue but absent in the leaf tissue. In plants where male sterility broke down under high temperature during the later part of the growing season, the 2.4 kb coxI transcript was absent, which suggested its association with the CMS. The two coxl genes from the CMS line showed two arnino acid changes in the coding region. The novel coxl gene showed unique repeats in the 5' region suggesting recombination of mitochondrial genomes of the two species. The possible role of the duplicated coxl gene in causing male sterility is discussed.

7 illus, 38 ref

013122   Pal A;Chakrabarti P;Bahadur R;Rodier F;Janin J (Biochemsitry Dep, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VIIM, Calcutta-700 054, Email: pinak@boseinst.ernet.in) : Peptide segments in protein-protein interfaces. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 101-11.

Important component of functional genomics involves the understanding of protein association. The interfaces resulting from protein-protein interactions - (i) specific, as represented by the homodimeric quaternary structures and the complexes formed by two independently occurring protein components, and (ii) non-specific, as observed in the crystal lattice of monomeric proteins - have been analysed on the basis of the length and the number of peptide segments. In 1000 Angstrom 2 of the interface area, contributed by a polypeptide chain, there would be 3.4 segments in homodimers, 5.6 in complexes and 6.3 in crystal contacts. Concomitantly, the segments are the longest (with 8.7 interface residues) in homodimers. Core segments (likely to contribute more towards binding) are more in number in homodimers (1.7) than in crystal contacts (0.5), and this number can be used as one of the parameters to distinguish between the two types of interfaces. Dominant segments involved in specific interactions, along with their secondary structural features, are enumerated.

8 illus, 2 tables, 42 ref

013121   Neril R B;Amarkhed S S;Ravish I R;Manoranjan U D;Prabha V;Koura A (Urology Dep, KLES Kidney Foundation, Nehru Nagar, Belgaum-590 010) : Genital self-mutilation in nonpsychotic heterosexual males. J Scient Soc 2008, 35(1-2), 67-9.

Genital self-mutilation is a rare event that is commonly associated with psychotic disorders. However, such injuries have also been reported from nonpsychotic patients as a result either from bizarre autoerotic acts, attempts at crude sex change operation by transsexuals or secondary to complex religious beliefs and delusions regarding sexual guilt. Two cases of of genital self-mutiliation in nonpsychotic married heterosexual males as a result of conflict and frustration has been reported.

^ccr1 illus, 9 ref

013120   Namboori B. Raju (Biological Sciences Dep, Stanford Univ, Stanford CA 94395-5020, USA, Email: nbraju@stanford.edu;nbraju@yahoo.com) : David D. perkins (1919-2007): a lifetime of neurospora genetics. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 177-86.

5 illus, 77 ref

013119   Nallathambi J;Neethirajan G;Usha K;Jitendra J;Baere E D;Sundaresan P (Genetics Dep, Dr. G. Venkataswamy Eye Research Institute, Aravind Medical Research Foundation, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai-625 020, Email: sundar@aravind.org) : FOXL2 mutations in Indian families with blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 165-8.

2 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

013118   Metgud C S;Katti S M;Mallapur M D;Wantamutte A S (Community Medicine Dep, J.N. Medical College, Belgaum) : Prevalence of anaemia amongst pregnant woman in Shindolli village. J Scient Soc 2008, 35(1-2), 34-8.

3 tables, 5 ref

013117   Maziere P;Parisey N;Beurton-Aimar M;Molina F (Center for Pharmacology and Health Biotechnolgy, UMR 5160, Faculte de, , 15 Av. Charles Flahault, BP 14491, 34093 Montpellier cedex 5, France, Email: marie.aimar@phys-mito.u-bordeaux2.fr) : Formal TCA cycle description based on elementary actions. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 145-55.

Bio ψ formal description scheme has been used which allows multi-level representations of biological process information. Applied to the description of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), Bio ψ allows the formal integration of functional information existing in current databases and make them available for further automated analysis. In addition such a formal TCA cycle process description leads to a more accurate biological process annotation which takes in account the biological context. This enables us to perform an automated comparison of the TCA cycles for seven different species based on processes rather than protein sequences. From current databases, Bioψ is able to unravel information that are already known by the biologists but are not available for automated analysis tools and simulation software, because of the lack of formal process descriptions. This use of the Bio ψ description scheme to describe the TCA cycle was a key step of the MitoScop project that aims to describe and simulate mitochondrial metabolism in silico.

5 illus, 23 ref

013116   Li C;Ge Q W;Nakata M;Matsuno H;Miyano D (Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8511, Email: miyano@ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp) : Modelling and simulation of signal transductions in an apoptosis pathway by using timed Petri nets. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 113-27.

First presents basic Petri net components representing molecular interactions and mechanisms of signalling pathways, and introduces a method to construct a Petri net model of a signalling pathway with these components. Then a simulation method of determining the delay time of transitions, by using timed Petri nets - i.e. the time taken in firing of each transition - is proposed based on some simple principles that the number of tokens flowed into a place is equivalent to the number of tokens flowed out. Finally, the availability of proposed method is confirmed by observing signalling transductions in biological pathways through simulation experiments of the apoptosis signaling pathways as an example.

10 illus, 3 tables, 36 ref

013115   Koujalgi S R (Psychiatric Social Worker Dep of Psychiatry, J.N. Medical College, Belgaum) : Concept of expressed emotion in psychiatric disorders. J Scient Soc 2008, 35(1-2), 15-16.

Majority of those who are diagnosed with psychological disorders go through rehabilitation to recover. However, it is easy for anyone with these orders to fall back into the old habits they are trying to end. One factor that contributes such a relapse after rehabilitation is expressed emotion (EE) from the relatives that they are living with after treatment. EE is the attitude that the relatives show towards the illness and the person. The pressure from close relatives pushes the person back into their old state of mind and the criticism is too overwhelming while they try to completely recover. EE is a direct factor in the relapse of a patient that has a psychological disorder. The concept of EE represents one of the most important discoveries in the field of psychosocial treatment of schizophrenia over the last decades. The cultural atmosphere was characterized both by the newly discovered phenothiazines treatment for schizophrenia, and by the English social psychiatry movement, which, with its trend towards deinstitutionalization, was gradually challenging the traditional vision of mental illness and its treatment. The discharge of many patient from psychiatric hospitals and their management in the community brought new problems to the attention of mental health professionals and patients' families. The importance of EE studies derives from the possibility, offered by these studies, to test, through a rigorous methodology, a psychosocial approach to the treatment of schizophrenia.

7 ref

013114   Kanchana D;Ramanathan N (Microbiology Dep, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai Univ, Annamalainagar-608 002, ) : Antimicrobial activity of lactic acid bacteria on food borne pathogens isolated from egg. Pl Archs 2008, 8(1), 151-3.

Antimicrobial activity of Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactococcus lactis culture filtrate was tested for its antimicrobial activity against the four pathogenic microorganisms viz., Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Salmonella sp. isolated from egg. The methods used for testing the antagonistic effect on the pathogens are paper disc assay, agar diffusion assay and minimal inhibitory concentration test. This study revealed that inhibition of growth for Salmonella sp. was obtained in 50 ml in the paper disc and agar diffusion test. In MIC the higher inhibition of growth was found in 70 ml for Salmonella sp., 40 ml for Escherichia coli, 50 ml Pseudomonas fluorescens, 30 ml for Staphylococcus aureus and 20 ml for Bacillus cereus, respectively.

4 tables, 9 ref

013113   Jali S;Metgud T (Pediatrics Dep, J.N. Medical College, Belgaum-590 010) : Cross sectional study of growth, breast feeding and immunisation profile of children aged 1-5 years in urban Belgaum. J Scient Soc 2008, 35(1-2), 61-3.

3 tables, 6 ref

013112   Harakuni S;Karadesai S G;Mutnal M B;Metgud S C (Microbiology Dep, J.N. Medical College, Belgaum-590 010) : ESBL detection - the need of time. J Scient Soc 2008, 35(1-2), 64-6.

1 illus, 10 ref

013111   Gyorffy A;Sorowiak P;Tulassay Z;Gyorffy B (Joint Laboratory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelwies University Budapest, Szentkiralyi u.46, H-1085 Budapest, Hungary, Email: zsalab2@yahoo.com) : Highly expressed genes are associated with inverse antisense transcription in mouse. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 103-9.

There is a growing evidence, that antisense transcription might have a key role in a range of human diseases. Although predefined sense-antisense pairs were extensively studied, the antisense expression of the known sense genes is rarely investigated. We retrieved and correlated the expression of sense and antisense sequences of 1182 mouse transcripts to assess the prevalence and to find the characteristic pattern of antisense transcription. We contrasted three Affymetrix MGU74A version 1 mouse genome chips to six MGU74A version 2 chips. For these 1182 transcripts, the version 1 chips contain the antisense sequences of the transcripts presented on the version 2 chips. The original data was taken from the GEO database (GDS431 and GDS432). As the Affymetrix data are semiquantitative. the relative expression levels of antisense partners were analysed. We detected antisense transcription, although the average antisense expression is shifted towards smaller expression values (MGU74A version 1, 516; version 2, 1688). An inverse direct correlation between sense and antisense expression values could be observed at high expression values. At a very high relative expression-above 40,000-the Pearson correlation coefficient is getting closer to -1. Transcripts with high inverse expression ratio may be correlated to the investigated gene (major histocompatibility complex class II trans activator). The ratio of sense to antisense transcripts varied among different chromosomes; on chromosomes 14 and 1 the level of antisense expression was higher than that of sense. We conclude that antisense transcription is a common phenomenon in the mouse genome. The hypothesis of regulatory role of antisense transcripts is supported by the inverse antisense gene expression of highly expressed genes.

4 illus, 1 table, 42 ref

013110   Gupta S B;Tamrakar D K;Tedia K;Thakur M P (Microbiology Dep, Plant Pathology, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur-492 006) : Effect of microbial inoculation on carbon and nitrogen content of paddy straw during its decomposition. J agric Issues 2006, 11(1), 71-4.

^ssc2 tables, 9 ref

013109   Girolkar A K;Bisne R;Agrawal H P (Govt.D.G.College, Ravishankar Univ, Raipur (C.G.)) : Estimation of correlation and path analysis for yield and its contributing characters in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Pl Archs 2008, 8(1), 465-7.

A study was conducted on correlation and path analysis of four CMS lines, eight testers and corresponding thirty two crosses for yield and its contributing characters. Grain yield per plant exhibited highly significant positive correlations with all the characters except total number of unfilled spikelets per panicle. The path analysis revealed the positive direct effect of characters total number of spikelets per panicle, effective number of tillers per plant, harvest index and 100 grain weight on grain yield. Harvest index and 100 grain weight recorded high positive correlation with significant positive direct effect on grain yield. These characters are suggested for further improvement of grain yield per plant.

2 tables, 8 ref

013108   Falahati-Anbaran M;Habashi A A;Esfahany M; Mohammadi S A;Ghareyazie B (Agricultural Biotechnology, Research Institute of North Region of Iran (ABRINI), Rasht Ghazvin Road, Rasht 41635-4115, Email: falahati_m@abrii.ac.ir) : Population genetic structure based on SSR markers in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) from various regions contiguous to the centres of origin of the species. J Genet 2007, 86(1), 59-63.

2 illus, 1 table, 15 ref

013107   De Brevern A G;Etchebest C;Benros C;Hazout S (NO, INSERM, U726, Equipe de Bioinformatique Genomique et Moleculaire (EBGM, 7, case 7113, 2, place Jussieu, 75251, Paris Cedex 05, France, Email: debrevern@ebgm.jussieu.fr) : "Pinning strategy": a novel approach for predicting the backbone structure in terms of protein blocks from sequence. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 51-70.

Description of protein 3D structures can be performed through a library of 3D fragments, named a structural alphabet. Structural alphabet is composed of 16 small protein fragments of 5 C_α in length, called protein blocks (PBs). It allows an efficient approximation of the 3D protein structures and a correct prediction of the local structure. The 72 most frequent series of 5 consecutive PBs, called structural words (SWs) are able to cover more than 90% of the 3D structures. PBs are highly conditioned by the presence of a limited number of transitions between them. In this study, we propose a new method called "pinning strategy" that used this specific feature to predict long protein fragments. Its goal is to define highly probable successions of PBs. It starts from the most probable SW and is then extended with overlapping SWs. Starting from an initial prediction rate of 34.4%, the use of the SWs instead of the PBs allows a gain of 4.5%. The pinning strategy simply applied to the SWs increases the prediction accuracy to 39.9%. In a second step, the sequence-structure relationship is optimized, the prediction accuracy reaches 43.6%.

7 illus, 80 ref

013106   Choudhary M P;Sharma S (Public Health Engineering Dep, Govt of Rajasthan, Jodhpur, Email: choudhary_mp@yahoo.co.in) : Conversion of world's worest aquatic weed Eichhornia crassipes into a plant of economic and enviromental impotance through treatment of stainless steel rolling mill wastewater. J Econ Taxon Bot 2007, 31(2), 286-95.

The developing countries all over the World are experiencing rapid population and economic growth especially in urban centers. The treatment and disposal of wastewaters is becoming more and more important as ever increasing population and urbanization threaten existing potable water supplies in many areas of the World. Although water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) has proved to be a persistent and expensive aquatic weed problem in every part of World it has ever invaded, but at the same time, it is reported to have proved its value as a natural purifier. The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of water hyacinth for treatment of stainless steel rolling mill wastewater. The samples of stainless steel rolling mill wastewater were treated with water hyacinth in the laboratory and it was found that water hyacinth is quite efficient in reducing of pollutional parameters such as BOD, COD, suspended solids, dissolved solids, heavy metals etc. The treated effluent is suitable for reuse for industrial, agricultural or gardening purposes.

4 tables, 11 ref

013105   Chihab K A;Chater R;Cenarro A;Kettani A; Castillo S;Mohamad L;Ribalta J;Adlouni A;Pocovi M;Messal M E (NO, Laboratoire de Biochimie et Biologie Molecularie, Group of Gene tique et Biologie Moleculaire, Faculty des Sciences, Ain chock. B.P. 5366, Casablanca, Morocco, Email: elmessal@yahoo.fr) : Familial hypercholesterolemia associated with severe hypoalphalipoproteinemia in a Moroccan family. J Genet 2007, 86(2), 159-63.

1 illus, 1 table, 23 ref

013104   Biswas D;Narayanan K;Chakraborty M (Project Directorate of Biological Control, , P.B.No.2491, H.A., Farm Post, Bellary Road, Hebbal, Bangalore-560 024) : Absorption of polyhedra of nuclear-polyhedrosis virus (NPV) by soil particles. J Ecofriendly Agric 2007, 2(1), 68-70.

^ssc1 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

013103   Bhasin M;Raghava G P S (NO, Institute of Microbial Technology, Sector 39A, Chandigarh-160 036, Email: raghava@imtech.res.in) : Hybrid approach for predicting promiscuous MHC class I restricted T cell epitopes. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 31-42.

Systematic attempt has been made to develop an accurate method for predicting MHC class I restricted T cell epitopes for a large number of MHC class I alleles. Initially, a quantitative matrix (QM)-based method was developed for 47 MHC class I alleles having at least 15 binders. A secondary artificial neural network (ANN)-based method was developed for 30 out of 47 MHC alleles having a minimum of 40 binders. Combination of these ANN- and QM-based prediction methods for 30 alleles improved the accuracy of prediction by 6% compared to each individual method. Average accuracy of hybrid method for 30 MHC alleles is 92.8%. This method also allows prediction of binders for 20 additional alleles using QM that has been reported in the literature, thus allowing prediction for 67 MHC class I alleles. The performance of the method was evaluated using jack-knife validation test. The performance of the methods was also evaluated on blind or independent data. Comparison of our method with existing MHC binder prediction methods for alleles studied by both methods shows that the method is superior to other existing methods. This method also identifies proteasomal cleavage sites in antigen sequences by implementing the matrices described earlier. Thus, the method that discovered allows the identification of MHC class I binders (peptides binding with many MHC alleles) having proteasomal cleavage site at C-terminus. The user-friendly result display format (HTML-II) can assist in locating the promiscuous MHC binding regions from antigen sequence.

3 illus, 6 tables, 29 ref

013102   Bamola N;Bisht G R S;Singh L (Microbiology Dep, SBS Institute Sciences, Balawala, Dehradun(Uttarakhand)) : In vitro antibacterial activity of some medicinal plants of Garhwal. Pl Archs 2008, 8(1), 133-7.

Ethanol, methanol and acetone extracts of leaves of Prunus cerasoids, Myrica esulenta, Artemisia capillaries and Rhus parviflora and stern barks of P. cerasoides, Pyrus pashia. Premna Barbata and R. parviflora were assayed for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiellapneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis and different hospital strains employing Agar well and disc diffusion methods. MIC and MBC value of effective extracts against test organisms were observed. Ethanol extracts gave best results followed by acetone and methanol extracts. Variations in response of test organisms are reported and discussed herein.

5 tables, 25 ref

013101   Balaji S;Srinivasan N (Molecualr Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560 012, Email: ns@mbu.iisc.ernet.in) : Comparison of sequence and structure-based phylogenetic trees of homologous proteins: inferences on protein evolution. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(1), 83-96.

Several studies based on the known three-dimensional (3-D) structures of proteins show that two homologous proteins with insignificant sequence similarity could adopt a common fold and may perform same or similar biochemical functions. Hence, it is appropriate to use similarities in 3-D structure of proteins rather than the amino acid sequence similarities in modelling evolution of distantly related proteins. Presents an assessment of using 3-D structures in modelling evolution of homologous proteins. Using a dataset of 108 protein domain families of known structures with at least 10 members per family we present a comparison of extent of structural and sequence dissimilarities among pairs of proteins which are inputs into the construction of phylogenetic trees. Finds that correlation between the structure-based dissimilarity measures and the sequence-based dissimilarity measures is usually good if the sequence similarity among the homologues is about 30% or more. For protein families with low sequence similarity among the members, the correlation coefficient between the sequence-based and the structure-based dissimilarities are poor. In these cases the structure-based dendrogram clusters proteins with most similar biochemical functional properties better than the sequence-similarity based dendrogram. In multi-domain protein families and disulphide-rich protein families the correlation coefficient for the match of sequence-based and structure-based dissimilarity (SDM) measures can be poor though the sequence identity could be higher than 30%. Hence it is suggested that protein evolution is best modelled using 3-D structures if the sequence similarities (SSM) of the homologues are very low.

7 illus, 3 tables, 36 ref

013100   Bakthavatsalam N;Tandon P L;Patil S B;Hugar B;Hosamani A (Project Directorate of Biologcial control (ICAR) Post Bag No 2491, , H A Farm Post, Bellary Road Bangalore-560 024) : Kairomone formulations as reinforcing agents for increasing abudance of Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) in cotton ecosystem. J biol Control 2007, 21(1), 1-8.

Adults and larvae of Chrysoperla cannea (Stephens) utilize different kairomones for oviposition, prey selection and acceptance. The larval kairomones containing scale extracts fortified with tricosane along with the eggs of Corcyra cephalonca (Stainton) as the supplementary diet, and the adult kairomone, acid hydrolyzed L-tryptophan were studied to increase the predatory -activity of the C. carnea in cotton ecosystem at three locations during 2002 - 2004. Controls were maintained with the two releases of C. carnea and without any treatment. In all the locations, the number of eggs, larvae, pupae or adult C. carnea was more than the treated control and control. The number of aphids, jassids, and the incidence of bollworm were significanty less in kairomone treated plots, compared to other plots. However, no difference was observed in the activity of coccinellids predators. The scope for utilizing the kairomones as reinforcing agents for C. carnea is discussed.

7 tables, 27 ref

013099   Adega F;Chaves R;Guedes-Pinto H (Laboratorio Associado Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (, University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro (CGB-UTAD), P-5001-801, Email: filadega@utad.pt) : Chromosomal evolution and phylogenetic analyses in Tayassu pecari and Pecari tajacu (Tayassuidae): tales from constitutive heterochromatin. J Genet 2007, 86(1), 19-26.

The mammalian family Tayassuidae (peccaries) is confined to the New World and comprises three recognized extant species, white-lipped (Tayassu pecari), collared (Pecari tajacu) and chacoan (Catagonus wagneri peccaries, which exhibit distinct morphological and chromosomal features. The phylogenetic relationships among the tayassuids are unclear and have instigated debate over the palaeontological. cytogenetic and molecular aspects. Constitutive heterochromatin analysis can be used in understanding the phylogenetic relationships between related species. Here we describe, tor the first time, the constitutive heterochromatin (C-positive heterochromatin) of two tayassuid species, Tayassu pecari and Pecari tajacu. We demonstrate that in situ restriction endonuclease digestion with sequential C-banding could be a complementary tool in the study of constitutive heterochromatin heterogeneity in chromosomes of the Tayassuidae. Our characterization of peccary chromosomes suggests that the Pecari tajacu autosomal karyolype is more primitive and has accumulated great diversity in its constitutive heterochromatin. This idea is supported by several other studies that analysed nuclear and mitochondria! sequences of the living peccar species. Finally, the tayassuid X chromosome primitive form seems to be the one of Tayassu pecari.

3 illus, 29 ref

012332   Zinadah O A A (Biology Dep, Faculty of Science, King Abdul Aziz Univ, Jeddah, (Saudi Arabia)) : Histological effect of iron supplementation on bone marrow and peripheral blood cells of rabbits. Biosci Biotechnol Res Asia 2007, 4(2), 383-8.

Evaluate iron deficiency and iron overload on the structure of the bone marrow as well as the peripheral blood cells of rabbits (Oryctolagus cunicuolus) as a model of experimental animals. For this purpose twenty four premature rabbits were divided into four groups, two control groups, sex-well fed animals and sex starved animals, and two experimental and supplemented groups, sex-well fed animals and sex starved animals were daily supplemented with therapeutic dose of iron as Fumarate tablets. Smears from bone marrow and peripheral blood were prepared. The bone marrow of the starved without iron supplementation showed normal appearance. However, the stem cell progenitors were predominantly in the last stage of development the reticulocytes were appeared with clear cytoplasm. By continuous iron supplementation the bone marrow cells restored their normal distribution and shapes. By time stainable materials were deposited within the cytoplasm and nuclei of the pro- erythroblasts. The reticulocytes become irregular in shape. These abnormalities took place in the red blood cells. In the well fed and iron supplemented groups the stainable materials were badly accumulated in the bone marrow cells from the first week of administration. These results concluded the severe need of iron to treats iron deficiency in a limited time. However, long duration of iron supplementation will introduce certain types of abnormalities in bone marrow and peripheral blood cells.

32 ref

012331   Yuh Yun M ;Kalaivani N;Abidin Zainal B A H (School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia, UKM-436 00 Bangi, Seleangor, Malaysia) : Prophylactic activity of chitosan against Plasmodium berghei infections in BALB/c mice. Biosci Biotechnol Res Asia 2007, 4(2), 377-81.

Prophylactic effect of crustacean chitosan (CC) against malarial infection was examined in BALB/c mice. CC dissolved in 0.5% acetic acid at different concentrations was given either intraperitoneally (i.p.) or orally from day 0 to day 5. Mice which received 0.5% acetic acid were used as the negative control whereas mice treated with chloroquine diphosphate were served as the positive control. All mice were infected with parasitized red blood cells on day 4. Results showed that CC treatment, either administered intraperitoneally or orally, possessed prophylactic effects on blood induced infection of P. berghei. All CC-treated mice exhibited longer life-span when compared to control mice received only vehicle. However, CC treatment intraperitoneally gave stronger protection where a dosage at 250 mg/kg showed significant parasite suppression as well as longer survival time of the infected mice. CC treatment through i.p. route also caused significantly higher neutrophil counts in the peripheral blood. We suggest that the activation of neutrophils in peripheral blood through prophylactic activity of CC may play a crucial role in the antimalarial activity of the host.

2 illus, 2 tables, 16 ref

012330   Weremfo A;Duweijua M;Abassah-Oppong S (BioChemistry Dep, School of Biological Science, Cape Coast Univ, Ghana) : Toxicological evalution of ethanolic root extract of Cassia selberiana in rats. Biosci Biotechnol Res Asia 2007, 4(2), 421-8.

Root of Cassia sieberiana (Caesalpinaceae) has been used extensively in Ghanaian traditional medicines as a remedy for the treatment of abnormal pain, dysmenorrhoea, ulcer and general body pains. The analgesic activity of the root extract has previously been established. Even though the plant has been used extensively, little is known about its possible side effects associated with its use. This work evaluated the ethanolic root extract of Cassia sieberiana for their behavioural and pharmaco-toxicological effects. No acute toxic effect was observed after a single oral dose up to 3.2 g/Kg of the extract. After administering the extract (40, 160 and 640 mg/Kg, p.o.) to the rats for 30 days, no deaths were found and the histopathological analysis of the vital organs did not show alterations. The extract also did not cause significant changes in the biochemical parameters examined except bilirubin level. For the haematological parameters studied, the red Wood cells and haemoglobin concentrations increased which may be due to haemolysis.

3 tables, 12 ref

012329   Vogel S (Biology Dep, Duke Univ, Durham, NC 27708-0338, USA, Email: svogel@duke.edu) : Living in physical world X. pumping fluids through conduits. J Biosci, Bangalore 2007, 32(2), 207-22.

5 illus, 82 ref

012328   Vinod Krishan;Uikey J;Saxena R C (Pest control and Ayurvedic drug Research Lab, S.S.L. Jain P.G. College, Vidisha) : Mosquito larvicidal activity of Ocimum sanctum on Culex quinquefasciatus. Biosci Biotechnol Res Asia 2007, 4(2), 717-20.

Use of chemical pesticides for a longer period posed number of health problems to the non-target organisms including human beings. Moreover, mosquitoes have developed resistance to the pesticides. Plant products are considered quite effective owing to their target species specific activity as well as their eco-friendly nature. In this context Ocimum sanctum of family-Lamiaceae have been tried for the phytoecdysis like compounds and their effect on II and IV instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus. It was noticed that IV instar larvae are more susceptible than II instar. Ocimum sanctum which is known as Tulsi in Hindi is found plentifully in local area. Dried leaves powder was soxhleted for 48 hours duration in petroleum ether which yielded 2.76% green viscous crude substance. This yielded a crystalline substance b-ocimol - a phytoecdysone by spectral analysis, its effect on (arvicidal potential leading to delayed pupation and fall in population of the vector have been reported.It is suggested that plant products may be an alternative to the chemical pesticides provided they have this potentiality at low concentration. The LC50 and LC90 value for II and IV instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus recorded as 288.76 and 186.0 and 489.73 and 284.56 respectively.

2 tables, 11 ref

012327   Vijayalatha V;Verma N;Singh B;Bora T C;Das R H;Gautam H K (Institute of Genomics and Intergrative Biology, Delhi Univ Campus, Mall Road, Delhi-110 007) : Selective antimicrobial profile of a newly isolated thermostable Brevibacillus borstelensis. Biosci Biotechnol Res Asia 2007, 4(2), 595-602.

Thermophilic bacterium Brevibacillus borstelensis strain RH 102 was isolated from the municipal garbage dumping site through plate exposure method. The cell free supematants (CFS) of this strain were screened for antimicrobial activity by agar diffusion assays against gram positive, gram negative and fungal pathogens. Methanolic extracts of CFS showed antimicrobial activity against the gram positive bacteria. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of this strain showed 99% nucleotide sequence homology with that of Brevibacillus borstelensis R-16402. The antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extract of CFS of RH 102 is abolished by protease. The protease sensitivity of the antimicrobial(s) produced by this Brevibacillus strain indicates it to be peptidyl in nature. Reports the production of antimicrobial compounds for the first time by Brevibacillus borstelensis. Selective spectrum activity of this metabolite(s) can have potential importance against emerging resistant gram positive pathogens.

2 illus, 4 tables, 21 ref