Indian Journal of Biology

Insect pests infest and damage agricultural stored grains and processed food products both qualitatively and quantity since time long before. Several synthetic chemical have been developed and applied as insecticides to manage these losses, but, extensive uses of these on this strategy have created serious environmental and health issues. To mitigate these problems, several natural volatile organic chemicals have been explored since last three decades and received significant results. In this continuation, two volatile organic chemicals, carvacrol and menthone have been evaluated for repellent, toxic, oviposition, developmental and feeding inhibitory activities against wheat flour insect, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). These two volatile organic chemicals repelled the adults of T. castaneum in filter paper repellency assay and cause acute toxicity in larvae and adults of T. castaneum in fumigant and contact toxicity assays. These two organic chemicals reduce oviposition and interfere with the transformation of larva to pupa and pupa to adult. Besides, deterrence in feeding habit of adults has also been recorded. These two chemicals inhibit acetylcholine esterase activity in adult insects suggesting probable neurotoxic mode of action in insects. These outcomes of the study suggest carvacrol and menthone as the key components in eco-friendly insecticide formulation based on volatile organic chemicals.

The armyworm, Mythimna separata (Walker, 1865) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a global migratory pest of crops. This migratory pest’s details study has been continuously followed by different researchers for a long history, factors that affecting the wingbeat frequency (WBF), as the insect is migratory, which mainly related to flight activity of the armyworm, remain Mistry and unclear. During the study, the WBFs of cultured and migrating moths both were observed carefully and tested under different natural and created conditions in the laboratory using the stroboscope. With the observation the study indicated efficiency of conversion of ingested food. These findings about the armyworms provide a deeper and useful understanding of factors that mainly affect conversion of ingested food in M. separata, which will be helpful for the researcher and other investigators to developing a regional migratory monitoring system through which they can develop a warning system of the pest, which can help in identifying target insect species based on.

Ninety five numbers of female dogs with mammary tumors presented at the small animal clinics from different regions of Ludhiana during 2021 to 2023 were investigated for prevalence of the disease. Temperature and respiration rate of tumor bearing bitches were comparable to that of values of healthy dogs but the pulse rate was observed to be significantly (p<0.05) increased in the tumor group. 69.81% of cases presented were observed to be obese. Adult female dogs (5-10 years old) were most frequently affected (54.71%) followed by old aged dogs (>10 years old). Spitz breed accounted for 39.62% of cases presented followed by German shepherd (31.13%), non-descript (16.98%) and Labrador (12.26%). Female dogs from industrial areas are most susceptible to mammary tumors (79.24%). 79.24% of tumors were palpated to be hard and 20.75% are soft. Histopathlogical analysis revealed that 66.03% of tumors were malignant and 33.96% belong to benign group. Our study concluded that mammary tumor in female dogs is an emerging animal health problem and special attention is needed for its prevention and treatment.

Advancements in plant cell tissue culture have helped to address the problems faced with several economically important plant species. Micropropagation and encapsulation technologies have been combined to make a new innovation called ‘artificial seeds’ or ‘synthetic seeds’ or “synseed” which combines both advantages of these two technologies. Alginate coats are used for artificial seeds to encapsulate somatic embryos/vegetative buds/ micro propagules that can act as seeds. They can then be germinated into plantlets upon incubation under in vitro or in vivo conditions and retain their regeneration potential after storage at low temperatures. Germplasm preservation and exchange between national and international laboratories may rely on using encapsulated propagules of elite plants. Also, this technology has been successfully exploited for cryopreservation by use of encapsulation - dehydration, or encapsulation - vitrification in germplasm storage of elite plant species. This review gives an overview of latest developments on synseed technology with special emphasis on explant selection for making successful synseeds as well as matrices that are used as an encapsulation material for synseeds. Moreover, the constraints impeding the advancement of seed technology and related future perspectives are also discussed.

Diabetes, a term that physicians frequently use to refer to a set of metabolic illnesses, is characterized by elevated blood glucose due to either insufficient insulin secretion, improper insulin cellular response, or both. Patients with elevated blood sugar often have polyuria (frequent urine), polydipsia (growing thirst), and polyphagia (increasing hunger). The definition of diabetes mellitus and its cause: The word diabetes is Greek in origin and means “siphon.” Diabainin was the term given to the illness by the Greek physician Aretus the Cappadocian in the second century A.D. He explained people with polyuria, or the overflow of water, as if they were a siphon. The Medieval Latin diabetes was adopted by the English, and so the word “diabetes.” Although it’s more often called diabetes, Thomas Willis added mellitus to the phrase in 1675. The word “mel” in Latin means “honey,” therefore persons with diabetes have high blood and urine glucose levels because glucose tastes sweet, just like honey. “Siphoning off sweet water” could be a literal description of diabetes mellitus. People noticed in ancient China that some people’s urine would attract ants due to its sweetness. It was decided to call it “Sweet Urine Disease.”

The whole world is filled with cultural heritage of all kinds generated by our ancestors. A large number of monuments, artefacts and manuscripts spread all over the world are finest examples of the artistic, scientific, architectural knowledge. These rich cultural heritages are a symbol of men’s cultural identity and continuity. Cultural heritage is unique and irreplaceable, which places the responsibility of preservation on the present generation. Deterioration is a loss of structural capacity with time by the action of the external agents or material leaching (Saiz and Laiz, 2000). The worldwide distribution of manuscripts contains rich intellectual diverse cultural heritage, which are the legacy of traditional wisdom and priceless Devine knowledge of thousand years back. Manuscripts are the important cultural heritages which often found neglected many parts around the world for decades. But more importantly manuscripts are needed to be conserve for safeguarding the records of the past history, culture and traditional knowledge. India possesses one of the largest collections of manuscripts comprising more than five million of manuscripts on different materials. Manuscripts are handwritten documents on paper, palm leaf, leather, textile or other materials written more than seventy-five years old that have significant historical, scientific or aesthetic value. There are several factors that deteriorate the manuscripts. The deterioration of heritage collection are reflected in the form of shrinkage, cracks, brittleness, warping, wear and tear, abrasion, bio-infestation, discoloration, holes, dirt and dust accumulation etc. The ravages of time, and extreme climatic conditions such as changes in temperature, humidity, intensity of light or even ignorance and most important biological agents, often destroyed priceless cultural property and records. It is therefore imperative that measures be taken at the earliest and in time to save and preserve these culture and heritage for posterity. This research paper contains an understanding of physical, chemical and biological agents, required to identify accurately so the proper conservation step can take to preserve this cultural heritage. “Cultural Heritage is an expression of the ways of living developed by a community and passed on from generation to generation.”

Aquaculture production dependence on the natural environment raised concerns about its susceptibility to climate change. Many aquaculture species are impacted both directly and indirectly by the rising water temperature brought on by global warming. One of the main abiotic variables influencing the development and survival of aquatic life. Their productivity, health, and performance are generally negatively impacted by extreme temperature that beyond their thermal threshold. Therefore, the goal of this study is to provide a thorough and in-depth analysis of the effects on anthropogenic temperature increases on the general physiology aspect The effects of fluctuating water temperatures on aquatic ecosystems are also discussed, including the uptake of heavy metals and pesticides, aquatic parasites, pathogen-associated disease outbreaks. A few freshwater, euryhaline, and marine species, as well as cold-water and warm-water species, have been selected to offer examples of how rising water temperatures will affect global trends in aquaculture production. This will give a more comprehensive understanding of how various aquaculture species react to temperature changes above their thermal threshold.