Effect of Short-term and Long-term Preservation on Motion Characteristics of Garole Ram Spermatozoa: A Prolific Microsheep Breed of India

Joshi, Anil,Bag, Sadhan,Naqvi, S.M.K.,Sharma, R.C.,Rawat, P.S.,Mittal, J.P. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2001 Animal Bioscience Vol.14 No.11

Garole is a prolific, rare, less known and small size Indian sheep breed found in low and humid Sunderban region of West Bengal. Although information on stored Garole ram liquid semen upto 24 h is available, but there is a need to further investigate the short-term and long-term preservability of Garole ram semen for extensive utilization of this valuable germplasm by artificial insemination. The aim of the present study was to apply computer-assisted sperm analysis technique for assessing the motion characteristics of Garole ram semen stored (i) in liquid state at refrigeration temperature for short-term preservation upto 48 h and (ii) in frozen state at $-196^{\circ}C$ for long-term preservation after packaging in mini straws. Short-term preservation had a significant effect on motility (p<0.01) as the motility progressively decreased from 90.1% at 0 h to 85.5% and 73.2% after 24 and 48 h of storage, respectively. Although the decline in rapid moving sperms was also significant (p<0.01) on storage but the decrease was more pronounced at 48 h as compared to 24 h of storage period. Storage of chilled semen had also a significant effect on % linearity (p<0.05), % straightness (p<0.01), sperm velocities (p<0.01), amplitude of lateral head displacement (p<0.01) and beat frequency (pO.Ol) of spermatozoa. The replication had a significant effect for all the variables except average path and straight line velocity. However, the interactions of short-term storage and replication were non-significant for most of the variables except % of medium moving sperms, sperm velocities and beat frequency. On long-term preservation of Garole ram spermatozoa under controlled conditions the mean post-thaw recovery of 70.4 and 71.4% motile spermatozoa was achieved having 48.8 and 48.9% of rapidly motile spermatozoa, respectively in both the replicates. The effect of replication on cryopreservation was significant (p<0.05) on amplitude of lateral head displacement and beat frequency, but there was no significant effect on motility, rapidly motile spermatozoa, linearity, straightness and sperm velocities of frozen-thawed spermatozoa. It can be concluded from these results that an average 70% motility can be achieved on storage of Garole ram semen in chilled liquid state upto 48 h or in liquid nitrogen after freezing under controlled conditions in straws. However, further studies are required to evaluate the fertility of short-term and long-term preserved Garole ram semen for extensive use of this prolific sheep breed.

Influence of Osmolality of Complete Semen Extender on Motion Characteristics of Frozen-thawed Ram Spermatozoa

Joshi, Anil,Mathur, A.K.,Naqvi, S.M.K.,Mittal, J.P. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.12

The present study was conducted to observe the effect of osmolality of glycerolated TEST-yolk glycerol extenders on post-thawing sperm kinematics of ram spermatozoa of the native Malpura breed maintained in a semi-arid tropical environment. Good quality semen obtained from adult rams was pooled, split and diluted to 1,000 million spermatozoa per ml in complete TEST-yolk-glycerol extenders of 900, 1,200, 1,500 and 1,800 mOsm/kg osmolality. Diluted semen samples were loaded in 0.25 ml straws and cooled down to $-125^{\circ}C$ freezing temperature at the rate of $-25^{\circ}C$ per minute under controlled conditions before plunging into liquid nitrogen for storage. The thawing of straws was performed at $50^{\circ}C$ in a water bath for 10 seconds and sperm kinematics of the frozen-thawed spermatozoa were assessed by a computer-assisted sperm analysis technique. Osmolality of diluent had no significant effect on post-thawing % motility, % rapid, % medium and % slow moving frozen-thawed spermatozoa but significantly (p< 0.05) affected the % linearity and % straightness. The post-thawing % motility and % rapid motile spermatozoa were highest in samples extended in diluent of 1,500 mOsm/kg osmolality and lowest in 900 mOsm/kg. The curvilinear velocity of spermatozoa was significantly (p<0.05) higher for samples extended in 1,800 mOsm/kg, compared to those in 900 and 1,200 mOsm/kg, but the effect was not significantly different to those extended in diluent of 1,500 mOsm/kg osmolality. The study indicated that ram spermatozoa could tolerate a wide osmolality range for dilution in the complete TEST-yolk-glycerol extender for their cryosurvival. The highest recovery of motile spermatozoa following thawing was achieved in samples extended in the TEST-yolk-glycerol diluent of 1,500 mOsm/kg osmolality.

Protective Effect of Quercetin on Alcohol Abstinence-Induced Anxiety and Convulsions

S.K. Kulkarni,D. Joshi,P.S. Naidu,A. Singh 한국식품영양과학회 2005 Journal of medicinal food Vol.8 No.3

Chronic administration of ethanol (2 g/kg, p.o.) on days 16 and its withdrawal produced an anxiogenic reac-tion in mice as assessed in the mirrored-chamber test. Daily administration of quercetin (25 or 50 mg/kg, p.o.) prior to ethanolfor 6 days prevented withdrawal-induced anxiety in mice. However, acute administration of a single dose of quercetin (50mg/kg) to animals withdrawn from ethanol, i.e., on day 7, did not prevent withdrawal-induced anxiety. Ethanol withdrawalalso induced a significant increase in the locomotor activity of mice indicating an anxiogenic response. Daily administrationof quercetin (25 or 50 mg/kg, p.o.) prior to ethanol for 6 days prevented withdrawal-induced increased locomotor activity.Ethanol withdrawal also sensitized the convulsogenic reaction to pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). A non-convulsive dose (4060mg/kg) of PTZ produced full-blown convulsions and increased mortality in ethanol-withdrawn mice. Both acute and chronicadministration of quercetin (25 or 50 mg/kg, p.o.) produced a significant protection against ethanol withdrawal-induced re-duction in PTZ threshold in mice. The result suggests the protective effect of this safe drug, quercetin, in the management ofethanol withdrawal reactions.

Production of Crossbred Lambs through Artificial Insemination of Non-prolific Medium Size Malpura and Avikalin Ewes Using Fresh Diluted Semen of Prolific Micro Size Garole Rams

Naqvi, S.M.K.,Maurya, V.P.,Joshi, Anil,Sharma, R.C.,Mittal, J.P. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.5

Six adult Garole rams maintained under a semi-intensive system were used as semen donors for this study. Semen was collectied daily during the monsoon season with the help of an artificial vagina and examined for its quality characteristics. Ejaculates of thick consistency, rapid wave motion, ${\geq}80%$ motility and intense movement of motile spermatozoa were diluted at the rate of 1:1 with egg yolk McIllvaine glucose diluent at $30^{\circ}C$ in water bath. Estrus in ewes was detected by parading aproned rams of proven vigour at 12 h intervals. The ewes (54 Malpura and 23 Avikalin) in estrus were artificially inseminated with fresh diluted ram semen. The overall conception rate was 94.8%, (range 91.7 to 100%). The overall lambing percent was 80.5 with a range of 75.0 to 84.6%. There was no significant (p>0.05) difference in lambing and conception rate because of individual rams. Fertility was significantly lower (p<0.05) in ewes of less than two years and more than six years of age. Breed (Malpura and Avikalin) effect was not observed in conception and lambing rate (p>0.05). No significant difference (p>0.05) in birth weight and 12 month weight was observed between Garole${\times}$Avikalin and Garole${\times}$Malpura crossbred lambs but there was significant (p<0.05) difference at three month and six months body weight of both the crossbred lambs.

Production and Optimization of a Commercially Viable Alkaline Protease from a Haloalkaliphilic Bacterium

R. H. Joshi,M. S. Dodia,S. P. Singh 한국생물공학회 2008 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.13 No.5

Twenty five haloalkaliphilic bacterial strains were isolated from sea water along the Coastal Gujarat (India) and screened for their ability to secret alkaline proteases. Among them, a potent strain S-20-9 (GenBank accession number EU118360), re-sembling to Halophilic Bacterium MBIC3303 on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, was selected for the optimization of enzyme production. S-20-9 produced protease optimally, under aerobic conditions during mid-stationary phase over a broad range of salt (5~25%, w/v) and pH (7~10). The optimum production was at pH 9 and 15% (w/v) NaCl. The production was suppressed by lactose, maltose, sucrose, and inorganic nitrogen sources, especially ammonium ions. Further, the pro-duction was significantly stimulated by KH₂PO₄ and suppressed by glucose. Similarly, the production was also suppressed at higher concentrations of gelatin, yeast extract, peptone, and casamino acids, indicating towards a threshold value for ni-trogen requirement. The growth and protease production were enhanced by mono-valent cation (KCl), while the divalent cations acted as inhibitors. The study holds significance as only few reports are available on the alkaline proteases from haloalkaliphilic bacteria, particularly those from moderate saline habitats.

MAGNETIC RECONNECTION DURING THE TWO-PHASE EVOLUTION OF A SOLAR ERUPTIVE FLARE

Joshi, Bhuwan,Veronig, Astrid,Cho, K.-S.,Bong, S.-C.,Somov, B. V.,Moon, Y.-J.,Lee, Jeongwoo,Manoharan, P. K.,Kim, Y.-H. IOP Publishing 2009 The Astrophysical journal Vol.706 No.2

<P>We present a detailed multi-wavelength analysis and interpretation of the evolution of an M7.6 flare that occurred near the southeast limb on 2003 October 24. Pre-flare images at TRACE 195 angstrom show that the bright and complex system of coronal loops already existed at the flaring site. The X-ray observations of the flare taken from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft reveal two phases of the flare evolution. The first phase is characterized by the altitude decrease of the X-ray looptop (LT) source for similar to 11 minutes. Such a long duration of the descending LT source motion is reported for the first time. The EUV loops, located below the X-ray LT source, also undergo contraction with similar speed (similar to 15 km s(-1)) in this interval. During the second phase the two distinct hard X-ray footpoint (FP) sources are observed which correlate well with UV and Ha flare ribbons. The X-ray LT source now exhibits upward motion as anticipated from the standard flare model. The RHESSI spectra during the first phase are soft and indicative of hot thermal emission from flaring loops with temperatures T > 25 MK at the early stage. On the other hand, the spectra at high energies (epsilon greater than or similar to 25 keV) follow hard power laws during the second phase (gamma = 2.6-2.8). We show that the observed motion of the LT and FP sources can be understood as a consequence of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection at a separator in the corona. During the first phase of the flare, the reconnection releases an excess of magnetic energy related to the magnetic tensions generated before a flare by the shear flows in the photosphere. The relaxation of the associated magnetic shear in the corona by the reconnection process explains the descending motion of the LT source. During the second phase, the ordinary reconnection process dominates describing the energy release in terms of the standard model of large eruptive flares with increasing FP separation and upward motion of the LT source.</P>

Electrospun bioactive poly (@?-caprolactone)-cellulose acetate-dextran antibacterial composite mats for wound dressing applications

Liao, N.,Unnithan, A.R.,Joshi, M.K.,Tiwari, A.P.,Hong, S.T.,Park, C.H.,Kim, C.S. Elsevier 2015 Colloids and surfaces. A, Physicochemical and engi Vol.469 No.-

<P>Electrospun nanofibrous mat for wound dressing application was successfully prepared from poly (6caprolactone) (PCL), cellulose acetate (CA) and dextran blend solution. Incorporation of small amount of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH), an antibacterial drug, improved the cell proliferation, enhanced blood clotting ability and cell attachment as well as antimicrobial activity of the composite mat. The composite mats were characterized by SEM, FTIR and TGA analysis. In order to evaluate the cytocompatibility and cell behavior of the composite scaffolds, fibroblast cells were seeded on the matrix. Results demonstrated that the incorporation of dextran and drug strongly enhanced the adhesion and proliferation of the cells on the composite nanofibers. The antimicrobial activity of the composite was studied by zone inhibition against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and the result indicates high antibacterial activity. Therefore, as synthesized composite fiber have decent characteristics for wound dressing and skin engineering applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</P>

Simulation studies of internal mechanisms in the static deflection of a cellulose electroactive paper actuator

Joshi, R. P.,Mbaye, F.,Basappa, P.,Jang, S. D.,Kim, J.,Hall, J. C. American Institute of Physics 2008 JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS - Vol.103 No.6

Non-covalent functionalization of graphene with poly(diallyl dimethylammonium) chloride: Effect of a non-ionic surfactant

Kaur, P.,Shin, M.S.,Sharma, N.,Kaur, N.,Joshi, A.,Chae, S.R.,Park, J.S.,Kang, M.S.,Sekhon, S.S. Pergamon Press ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2015 International journal of hydrogen energy Vol.40 No.3

Carbon based nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, graphene etc) containing various hetero atoms are promising metal free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. We report the non-covalent functionalization of graphene with poly(diallyl dimethylammonium) chloride (PDDA), a polyelectrolyte containing nitrogen, using a very simple method. The addition of a non-ionic surfactant (Triton X-100) during functionalization has been observed to improve the interactions between graphene and PDDA. An up-shift in the position of G-peak in the Raman spectra, down-shift in the binding energy (B.E.) of N1s peak and an up-shift in the B.E. of C1s peak in XPS spectra have been observed due to an inter-molecular charge-transfer from carbon in graphene to nitrogen in PDDA, which get enhanced in the presence of Triton X-100. Graphene functionalized with PDDA also show good thermal stability. The addition of a non-ionic surfactant enhances the non-covalent functionalization of graphene with PDDA, which is desirable from applications point of view.

Comparative study on nano-crystalline titanium dioxide catalyzed photocatalytic degradation of aromatic carboxylic acids in aqueous medium

P.A. Joshi,V.G. Gandhi,M.K. Mishra,M.S. Rao,A. Kumar,D.O. Shah 한국공업화학회 2011 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.17 No.2

The comparative study on titanium dioxide (TiO2) catalyzed photocatalytic degradation (PCD) of aqueous aromatic carboxylic acids (phthalic acid, o-nitrobenzoic acid, o-chlorobenzoic acid and benzoic acid) was carried out in the presence of UV radiation using air. The TiO2 catalyst, synthesized by sol–gel technique and calcined at 673 K, resulted ca. 100% anatase phase with 23 nm crystallite size and surface area of 37 m2/g. This catalyst was found to be efficient for PCD of phthalic acid, o-nitrobenzoic acid, ochlorobenzoic acid and benzoic acid in aqueous medium. However, the reactivity and degradation pathway of these carboxylic acids were observed to be greatly influenced by the substituent group present in the aromatic ring. The order of degradation of aromatic carboxylic acids was found to be phthalic acid > o-nitrobenzoic acid > o-chlorobenzoic acid > benzoic acid. The aromatic carboxylic acids having electron withdrawing groups such as –COOH, –NO2 and –Cl were comparatively more reactive for PCD than unsubstituted aromatic acid i.e., benzoic acid. The degradation of ortho substituted benzoic acids (having electron withdrawing groups) follows different mechanistic pathway than that of benzoic acid. Study of various operational parameters like effect of catalyst loading, initial concentration of phthalic acid and kinetics of phthalic acid PCD was also carried out in batch type photocatalytic reactor.