Naked Neck Polish: Hyderabadi breeds new variety

May 18, 2008
By Syed Akbar
A fancy poultry breeder from Hyderabad has created an exotic new variety of "Polish", without feathers on its neck. This is the first time that a Polish bird has been bred with a naked neck.
The breeder took a Naked Neck bird and crossbred it with a Polish bird to
obtain Naked Neck Polish. This he achieved in the eighth generation. Moreover, the new bird has several genetic advantages over ordinary poultry birds. It is resistant to a number of poultry diseases.
The new Naked Neck Polish is presently on display at a private poultry farm in Caravan area of old city of Hyderabad. Similar cross breeding attempts have been made in different parts of the world without much success.
"One has to wait for at least eight generations to confirm that a chosen
feature obtained from cross breed sustains in the offspring. In our case, we have successfully demonstrated that Naked Neck Polish bird could be achieved and the
new features sustained in the subsequent generations," says fancy poultry
breeder Naveed Qureshi.
Naked Neck Polish birds are now available only in Hyderabad and Naveed plans to export them to other countries, once the Union government lifts the ban on poultry imports-exports imposed in the wake of bird flu scarce in some Asian countries including West Bengal State in the country.
The Naked Neck is the only breed of poultry, which has no feathers on the neck. The bird has its origin in Central Europe and is popularly known as Transylvanian Naked Neck. It is also called Turken as the bird was wrongly thought to have evolved from cross breed between a chicken and a turkey.
It is a dual-purpose utility bird that gives a large number of eggs. It is in high demand for the rich quality of its meat and easy plucking of feathers. On the other hand Polish breed originated in Poland and is famous for its beauty. It bears crown-like feathers on its head. The bird is bred for fancy and is resistant to most of the poultry diseases.
"All these features from the two species of birds have been obtained in the new variety Naked Neck Polish. There are as many as 14 basic colours and several new standard colours," says Naveed, whose sprawling farm has more than 100 varieties of exotic birds including frizzled white Poland, white crest blue Polish, austrolop, orpinton, play mouth rock, white wyndoh and modern English game.

Powerful EWS decoys to seduce incoming missiles

May 13, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 12: The city-based Defence Electronics Research Laboratory is working on a state-of-the-art decoy system for the Indian Navy to protect vital installations from missile attacks by enemy nations.
The decoy will be equipped with the most modern electronic warfare system and the DLRL is looking for collaboration with some international firms to develop the technology.
"It will emit strong signals to seduce an in-coming missile and detract it from the targeted path. The missile will hit the decoy and the naval ship or vital installation will escape from the missile attack," DLRL director R Sreehari
Rao told a select group of reporters.
The decoy can also be towed to enable the aircraft to draw the missile's attention away from itself to a done or false target. It is programmed in such a way to "lure away" an in-coming missile by presenting a more attractive target.
"The system protects the aircraft, naval ships and other installations against
radar guided missiles.
The decoys can be free flying as well. Since it is a self-propelled decoy, it has
a fairer chance of enticing away a missile than a towed decoy.
Referring to the need for miniaturisation of electronic warfare systems, Dr Sreehari said the DLRL has plans to develop high altitude based EWS that could have a large range. He said the Samyukta electronic warfare system would be ready by November this year.
"In battle field, electromagnetic spectrum is extensively used for various purposes. Traditionally winning the war means control over land, air and sea based assets. he fourth dimension of war is control over EM spectrum. No war can be won without effectively controlling the EM spectrum," he said. Sreehari Rao said the DLRL had developed integrated electronic warfare systems for tactical battlefield operations as well as low conflict scenarios meeting the operational requirements of Indian Army.

Helicobacter pylori may cause cancer of the stomach

May 13, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that lives in the human gut, is capable of causing severe health complications including carcinomas. Certain genotypes of H pylori have higher predictive value for the development of intestinal-type cancer at an early age.
Researchers at the Centre for Liver Research and Diagnostics, Deccan College of Medical Sciences and the Department of Gastroenterology, Osmania General Hospital, have suggested that genotyping of H. pylori will serve as a useful tool for screening people at increased risk of developing malignancy. The city study is in contrast to earlier findings that H. pylori has no role in gastric cancers.
The study was led by eminent gastroenterologist CM Habibullah. Malignant tumours of the stomach are common, but the incidence of stomach cancer varies from country to country, probably a result of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors.
"Stomach cancer often occurs in older people whose stomachs produce only small quantities of acid. Although infection with Helicobacter pylori has been proven beyond doubt in the aetiopathogenesis of various gastric disorders, not much is known about the genotypes of H pylori infection in early-onset gastric cancer," the study noted.
As part of the study, 92 patients were separated into three groups on the basis of their endoscopic findings: group 1, gastric cancer; group 2, gastric ulcer; group 3, non-ulcer dyspepsia.
According to the city team of researchers, gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths world-wide. Malignancy of the stomach is the most common cancer in Asia, nearly two-thirds of which occurs in developing countries.
"Our understanding of gastric cancer underwent a discernible shift with the discovery of Helicobacter pylori. Infection with H pylori probably still plays a leading role in the development of gastric cancer in young patients. In a country such as India, where more than 75 per cent of the population are infected, it has been proved beyond doubt that H pylori infection is high, especially in areas of low socio-economic status and bad hygiene conditions," the scientists said.
In addition, a number of environmental factors have been shown to be associated with gastric cancer, including high-salt diets, N-nitrosamines and low intake of dietary antioxidants typically found in fresh fruit and vegetables.

Agni-5: India plans 5000 km range Agni-5 missile

May 10, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 9: India has already attained the capability of developing missiles, which could hit targets beyond 5000 km range, according to Avinash Chander, programme director of Agni missile system.
Avinash Chander, who is also the director of Advanced Systems Laboratory that developed the Agni components, said his lab would now take up the design of the new missile system. "We have the capability of making 5000 km range missiles, but we have to make the designs first. The designing part will be over in two year's time," he said.
Interacting with a select group of reporters here on Friday after the successful test-fire of Agni-3 missile earlier this week, Avinash Chander said the next programme would be Agni-5. There's no need for Agni-4 as it's just an upgradation of the existing Agni-3. "We are looking forward to developing Agni-5 missiles with multiple warheads.
The present missile system carries only one warhead. The advanced stage of Agni-5 will be capable of carrying three warheads that could hit the given target or the set of different targets with precision," he pointed out.
The Agni-3 missile has filled the vital gaps in India's defence capability while Agni-5 will take it a step further. "We are on par with the European nations and China when it comes to possession of missile system capability. Only the USA is ahead of us," he claimed.
The development of Agni-5 will put India on an advantageous position in the region as it could hit any target within the geopolitical system. Only the USA, Russia, France and China have missiles beyond the 3,000 km range. India has
joined the select club with the successful test-firing of Agni-3, which has a range of about 3,500 km. "The Agni-5 technology will be totally indigenous," Avinash Chander said.
Referring to Agni-3, he said it has a state-of-the-art inertial guidance, highly accurate sensors with high immunity from jamming. The ASL is also working on new
warhead technologies that could be used for Agni-3 and Agni-5. The warheads will be capable of hitting the given targets piercing through the anti-ballistic missile defence system of the enemy. They are capable of fooling the radar system.
There will be decoy warheads which will be fired along with the genuine ones. The idea is to divert the attention of the enemy's defence system. The enemy will lose its anti-ballistic missiles firing at the decoy warheads while the real warheads will hit the targets, destroying the enemy's capability. The warheads will also pass through the atmosphere dodging the enemy's missiles.

Old rice is not good for health

May 8, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 7: Old rice cooks well but it may cause severe health problems
including poisoning if it is not washed properly.
Old rice is infested by fungus that release aflatoxins, which are ranked
among the most carcinogenic substances known to science. A study conducted by the
city-based Directorate of Rice Research revealed that most of the rice
available in farmer fields, godowns and consumer markets is infested by a type of
fungus known as Aspergillus. The worst is the rice which is 36 months old or more.
As part of the study, senior DRR scientists CS Reddy and K Muralidharan
collected as many as 900 rice samples covering 250 varieties in 20 States
across the country. The collection was from areas exposed to rain/flood or stored in
storage bins or from the whole sale/retail market places.
The team isolated aflatoxin-producing mycoflora, Aspergillus species. "Aspergillus contamination was detected in most of the seed samples. A. flavus, A. niger, A. ochraceus and A. parasiticus were identified from these samples. In general, the Aspergillus contamination was more in the seed samples collected from the crop/seed exposed to rain followed by seed stored for long periods," they pointed out.
Around 60 to 84 per cent of the rice samples collected were found positive to
Aflatoxin B1. Of the samples collected from different sources, 93 per cent
of the seed which was exposed to rain was found positive followed by the samples
stored for more than 3 years (77 to 79 per cent) and the samples collected
from consumer markets (75 per cent). Of these, 21 seed samples recorded 32.8 to
308 ìg aflatoxin B1/ kg rice, which is above the permissible limit.
The DRR team attributed the growth of fungus on rice to the crop being
exposed to frequent and heavy rainfall and floods, particularly just before
harvest. Often harvested sheaves remain wet and grains become prone to invasion by fungi. Such grains with moisture content higher than the desired levels enter the
storage system.
"As a result, invasion by both, field and storage fungi take place. In general, fungal invasion leads to discoloration, loss in viability and quality of the grains. Aflatoxin contamination of agricultural commodities including rice is a serious food safety issue besides being a significant economic concern," the DRR study warned.
The team recorded infection of Aspergillus species in rice grains in surface-
sterilised seed, kernel, hull and kernel powder. The scanning electron microscopic examination showed the presence of Aspergillus species, particularly A. parasiticus in kernel, starch, endosperm and embryo. The discoloured kernel revealed the presence of tubular, long, turgid and ramified fungal hyphae both in vegetative or reproductive stage and had disintegrated starch.
"Consumption of these discoloured rice grains is a definite risk to health," the DRR study said adding that use of certain biological agents and plant extracts like clove, garlic, neem and turmeric will prevent the fungal growth on rice or drastically reduce its effect.

Genetic link for frequent miscarriage

May 6, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: Certain couples report frequent miscarriages without any valid external reasons. Scientists have now found that such couples undergo miscarriages because of genetic abnormalities, known in scientific jargon as “abnormal karyotype”.
Genetic counselling will help couples with complaint of frequent miscarriage rectify the defect. It will provide them with the options for future pregnancies.A study conducted by senior scientists SB Nair, G Mukundan, BM Paul and others has found that the single most common reason for pregnancy loss is the presence of a chromosome abnormality in the foetus, particularly if the loss occurs early in the pregnancy.
“About 60 per cent of recurrent miscarriages might be caused by chromosomal aberrations in the embryo,” they said. Of the chromosomal abnormalities observed in couples with two or more pregnancy losses, two-thirds were balanced autosomal translocations with the incidence of such translocations in this group being 30 times higher than in the general population.
As part of the research project, the scientists selected 467 couples with history of recurrent miscarriage. Investigations were carried out to rule out nongenetic factors such as placental abruption as the causative factor for multiple abortion. “After that they were enrolled for genetic work-up. Both partners of each couple were karyotyped and out of that we found 30 cases with translocations”.
One of the cases studied was that of a 34-year-old phenotypically normal female. She had three missed abortions. Her partner was found to be phenotypically and clinically normal. All the other clinical parameters of both the partners were within the normal range. Presently they have a chromosomally normal male and a female child. No relevant family history and consanguinity were observed.
In another case, the team studied a 22-year-old phenotypically normalfemale with three missed abortions. Her mother also had a history of five missed abortions - four in the first trimester and one in the second trimester. Her partner was a 31-year-old phenotypically normal male. His sperm count was normal. All the other clinical parameters of both the partners were within the normal range. No consanguinity was seen.
They pointed out that up to 60 per cent of sporadic miscarriages and between 29-60 per cent of recurrent miscarriages might be caused by chromosomal aberrations in the embryo.
“Carriers of balanced translocations are subjected to an increased risk of abnormal chromosomal segregation during meiosis. The consequences include infertility, multiple pregnancy losses and live born abnormal offspring with multiple congenital malformations as a result of chromosomal imbalance,” the scientists observed.
One major genetic reason for recurrent miscarriage is found to be a balanced translocation in either of the parents. Any discrepancy between miscarriage and congenital anomalies caused by unbalanced gametes might depend on the chromosome number and the positions of breakpoints. The risk of having a handicapped child with an unbalanced karyotype depends on the type of translocation and on the sex of the transmitting parent.