Jayanta Kumar Kundu

Increased Serum Magnesium and Calcium and their Regulation During Hibernation in the Indian Common Toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider, 1799)

ABSTRACT. In the present study we investigate the changes in the level of serum magnesium and calcium ions, and their possible mode of regulation during progression of hibernation of the anuran, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, the Indian Common toad. Though these ions have a profound effect on the thermoregulatory center in the brain of even poikilothermic vertebrates like the Indian Common toad, not much information is available about the system. We attempt to expose the role of these ions in this system. In this animal, serum magnesium and calcium levels are known to be significantly low during the entry phase as well as during the awakening phase from the hibernation period as compared to the deepest phase. We tried to correlate the role of serum magnesium and calcium ions during different phases of this poikilothermic animal.

Bancroftian filariasis in four slums of Bankura, West Bengal, India

Abstract Objective To assess the prevalence of disease and microfilaremia in four slums of Bankura, West Bengal, India. Methods Data on age and sex-specific of all the respondents were collected and compared with microfilaria rate and density (20 mm 3 blood was collected by finger prick) to examine the relationship between the dynamics of Wuchereria bancrofti . Screening of the population for the main signs and symptoms of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in both sexes and hydrocele in men, was performed in a health facility setting (health center/health post) by physicians/trained nurses. Disease rate and endemicity rate were also calculated. Aspects related to vectors were also studied by regular collection and dissection of mosquitoes. Results Microfilaria rate, mean microfilarial density, disease rate and endemicity rate were 5.04%, 7.03%, 13.83% and 18.37%, respectively. Causative parasite was identified as Wuchereria bancrofti and Culex quinquefasciatus was recorded as vector. Per man hour density, infection and infectivity rates of the vector Culex quinquefasciatus were found to be 14.12%, 5.98% and 0.87%, respectively. Conclusions Using these baseline data would be useful in planning for the elimination of LF in slums of Bankura, West Bengal, India as per World Health Organization goal to eliminate LF by 2020.

Variation in lipid and fatty acid uptake among nematode and cestode parasites and their host, domestic fowl: host–parasite interaction

Lipid synthesis is an important process in most organisms as well as in helminths. The present observation shows the variation of lipid and fatty acid uptake among cestode, Raillietina (Fuhrmannetta) echinobothrida; nematode, Ascaridia galli and their host, Gallus domesticus, the common country fowl. Total lipid (TL), neutral lipid (NL), glycolipid (GL), phospholipid (PL) and their fatty acid of cestode, nematode and liver and intestinal fluid of the host were analyzed by thin layer chromatography and gas liquid chromatography respectively. The result shows that liver take more TL, PL and GL except NL. Utilization of lipid from intestinal fluid when compare between the parasites, it is found that TL and PL content of cestode are higher than nematode, whereas, nematode absorbs more NL and GL than cestode. The percent of cholesterol is more in cestode than nematode. Palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic are the predominant fatty acids among all the samples. The present study reveals that the cestode having large surface area is more opportunistic in the resource utilization over the nematode as well as the host.

In silico comparative study of the genomic islands of Vibrio cholerae MJ1236 with those of Classical and El Tor N16961 strains of Vibrio cholerae.

The evolution of microbial genomes is greatly influenced by horizontal gene transfer (HGT), where large blocks of horizontally acquired foreign sequences, often encoding virulence determinants, occur in chromosomes of pathogenic bacteria. A program design-island developed in our laboratory was used on three completely sequenced Vibrio cholerae genomes, V. cholerae Classical O395, El Tor N16961 and MJ1236, in order to identify the putative horizontally acquired regions. The putative genomic islands (GIs) were graphically represented and analyzed. The study identified distinct regions in the GIs of V. cholerae MJ1236 which were shared either with the Classical or the El Tor strain of V. cholerae. A cluster comprising of 38 ORFs was common to V. cholerae strains of MJ1236 and Classical O395 but absent in El Tor N16961. About 5% of the predicted GIs of V. cholerae MJ1236 were unique to itself. Among these unique ORFs, a region of mostly hypothetical genes was identified, where the ORFs were present in a large cluster. The results show that the HGT had played a significant role in the evolution and the differentiation of V. cholerae MJ1236.