Science Horizon2ND YEAR 6TH ISSUE JUNE, 2012

ODISHA BIGYAN ACADEMY

REQUEST FORCONTRIBUTINGSCIENCEBASEDARTICLES IN ENGLISH

The Secretary, Odisha Bigyan Academy invites articles in English on

Basic and Applied Sciences from scientists, technologists and professionals

to be published in the English magazine "SCIENCE HORIZON". The

articles shouldbe lucid and easilyunderstood by students of Higher Secondary

schools, undergraduate students and common readers. They should focus on

scientific topics and should be presented in a popular style covering

information on scientific discoveries/inventions, biography of scientists,

eradication of superstitions, development of scientific temper, story,

features, snippets etc. The article should ordinarily be of two to three printed

pages in one side ofA-4 size paper with attractiveheadings. Theauthors whose

articles are published in the magazine will be paid a token remuneration for

each article. The articles should be sent to the Secretary, Odisha Bigyan

Academy by the following address.

Secretary, Odisha Bigyan Academy,Type-4R/25, Unit-IX(F), Bhubaneswar-751022,

ODISHA, INDIA,Tel: 0674 - 2543468

President, Odisha Bigyan AcademyProf. (DR) Basudev KarVice President, Odisha Bigyan AcademyProf. (DR) Shashi Narayan MohapatraEditorProf. Sodananda TorasiaLanguage ExpertProf. (Dr) D. K. RayManaging EditorSri Sanatan RanaSecretary, Odisha Bigyan Academy

6TH ISSUE2ND YEAR JUNE,2012

Science Horizon

Editorial Board

Dr Ramesh Chandra Parida

DR Nityananda Swain

Dr Pramod Kumar Mahapatra

Dr Prahallad Chandra Nayak

Dr Bhabendra Kumar Patnaik

Prof. (Er) P.C. Patnaik

CONTENTS

Subject Author Page

1. Editorial From Nano to Nova, the search continues..... Prof. Sodananda Torasia 22. Bioplastics for Sustainable Future Padmalochan Pradhan and 3

Jagadish Chandra Paul3. Robert Koch's contribution to Bacteriology K. Pravakar and 5

G. C. Sahoo4. Research Methods in Modern Medicine Guru Prasad Mohanta 105. Coastal Erosion in Odisha Bijay Ketan Patnaik 136. "Cloud Seeding": an effective way to Sarada Prasad Mohapatra 17

fight against drought7. The Brachisto Chrone Problem and the Cycloid N. Parhi 198. The Science of Hydroponics Bishnu Prasad Behera 249. Understanding Computational Chemistry and S. M. Behera 28

Data Mining Chemistry10. Memory Declines as Age Goes Up, But Not Wits Dwijesh Kumar Panda 3011. Production of Baby Corn for Higher Profit Subas Chandra Sahoo 32

12. Metabolomics-Studying Chemical Vocabulary of Plants Prasanta K. Dash, Kishor Gaikward,Pradeep K. Jain and Rhitu Rai 34

13. Calcium - The Essential Health Nutrient G. K. Roy 3814. Plant Tissue Culture and Its Application Sanjeeb Kumar Das and 41

Padmini Bisyoi15. Vitamin A Rich - Golden Rice - A Gift of Biotechnology Basanta Kumar Choudhury 4416. 5W'S+H : Ulcer Nityananda Swain 46

The Cover Page depicts the DNA Molecule, the Fullerene, the IVF Cell division and the Graphene.

EDITORIALWORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

Green Economy: Population Growth and Limited Resources

World Environment Day (WED) is an annualevent that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely

celebratedglobal day for positiveenvironmental action.

WED activities take place all the year round but theclimax is on 5 June every year, involving everyone

from everywhere. The celebration which began in1972 has grown to become one of the main vehicles

through which the UN Environment Program

stimulates worldwide awareness of the environmentandencourages political attentionandaction. It addition

to this, it personalizes, environmental issues andenableseveryone to realize not only his/her responsibility, but

also their power to becomeagents of change in support

of sustainable and equitable development. This is agreat day for people from all walks of life to come

together to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighteroutlook for themselves and the future generations.

The momentum has picked up since then. Aftertwenty years, during 3-14 June, 1992, 172 Governments

met at Rio-de Janeiro to discuss the issues, reaffirming

the Declaration of the UN Conference on the HumanEnvironment adopted at Stockholm on 16.6.72. The

Rio 'Earth Summit' of 1992 focused on SustainableDevelopment procla iming several principles.

Afterwards several International meets, like ClimateChange Convention, Kyoto Protocol, Biological

Diversity etc. have been held. Since then the world

has woken up from slumber to face with awe thealarming situation threatening the very existence of

the Biosphere. During the last twenty years,extraordinary efforts have been made, for delving more

deeply into the causes of the environmental problems

and possible solutions to save the world. The effortsare matched by the steps taken by the individual

Nations, irrespective of their developing status,

economy and resources. The recommendations over theyears are replete with 'Do's and 'Don'ts, in every sphere

ofhumanactivity, whichwouldcover volumes of literature,enough to fill a small library, yet it appears we are onlytouching the periphery of the vast volcano of the issueswhich will erupt one day, unless controlled from now.

Of late, it has been realised that the core of the

issuelies withthealarming growthofhuman population,with growth rate of 13.4 crores per year, which isexpected to exceed 900 crores by the year 2050. To

feed the mouths of the teeming population would havea great demand on agriculture. This in turn wouldmeanencroaching on the forest land, which we are losing,

about 13 million hectares per year (half of this beingprimary forest area), to meet the industrial growth,other infrastructural needs and forest fire. With the

growth and development of civilisation, the needs ofpeople inrespect ofhousing, education, communicationand energy becomes complementary and weighsheavily on the natural resources. Another very

important component of the natural resources is freshwater, which is only 2.5 per cent of the total volume ofavailable water. Not touching 70 per cent of the water,

which is in the form of snow and ice, would mean acutescarcity in the near future, a situation equally alarming.

In view of the interrelated issues of demandand supply, with its final impact on the WorldEnvironment, thetheme, rightly chosen for theRIO+20,

World Envirornment Day 2012, 'Green Economy', asa means of improving livelihood by tackling theproblems of thepresent andfuture generations is highly

noteworthy.

Let us hope with all the enthusiasm shown

throughout the Globe, we will live to the expectationsof one and all

Sodananda Torasia

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Introduction :

This is the age of plastics. Plastics areused in almost every sphere, such as, in routinehouse hold packaging, in bottles, cell phones,printers etc. It is also utilizedby manufacturingindustries, ranging from pharmaceuticals toautomobiles. They are useful as syntheticpolymers because, their structures can bechemically manipulated to get a variety ofstrengthsand shapes to obtainhigher molecularweight, low reactivity and long durabilitysubstances. Plastics are important materialsfor the society, not only because of the abovementioned properties but also cost efficiency.Unfortunately, these petroleum based plasticsare not biodegradable. This results in one ofthe major causes of solid waste pollutionthough buried in landfills. They are indigestibleand in many cases animals die due to plasticblockage in the gut. Furthermore, plastics areoften soiled by food and other biologicalsubstances, making physical recycling of thismaterial undesirable. Incinerating plastics hasbeen one option, but other than being expensiveit is alsodangerous. Various harmful chemicalslike hydrogen chloride and hydrogen cyanideare released during incineration.

In recent years, there has been increasingpublic concern over the harmful effects ofpetrochemical derived plastic materials in the

BIOPLASTICS FORSUSTAINABLE FUTURE

* PadmalochanPradhan andJagadish Chandra Paul

environment. Problem of managing plasticwaste on the earth is increasing very rapidlynow a days and studies have been initiated tofind out suitable eco-friendly materials tominimize environmental problem.

In their attempt materials, to findalternative researchers have developed fullybiodegradable plastics, which when disposedin the environment and can easily degradethrough the enzymatic action of micro-organisms. The degradation of biodegradableplastics produces carbon dioxide, methane,water, biomass, humic matter and various othernatural substances which can be readilyeliminated. Due to its ability to degrade inbiotic environment these types of materialsare termed as "Bioplastics"

Bioplastics

Bioplas tics ar e sp ecial types ofbiological material which is degradable andeco-friendly in their chemical nature. Theyare polyesters, produced by a range of micro-organism; cultured under different nutrientsand environmental conditions. Bioplastics aremainl y cl as si fi ed int o th re e ty pe s :i) Photodegradableand ii) Semi-biodegradableplastic. The former have light sensitive groupsincorporated directly in to the backbone ofthe polymer as additives. Due to lack ofsunlight in landfill, they remain undegradedand not used widely. However the latter can bedegraded by bacteria because they attack starcheasily and residual polymer released can bedegraded by other bacteria. Due to presenceof starch, bacteria attack and turn off ability of

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polyethylene fragments thereby remain non-degradable. The other type of iii) biodegradableplastic is rather new and promising because ofits actual production and utilization by bacteriato form biopolymer. These polymers, usuallylipid in nature, are accumulated as storagematerial (in the form of mobile, amorphousliquid granules) in microbes and allowmicrobial survival under stress condition. Thissto rage mater ia l is known aspolyhydoxyalkanoates (PHAs), which storecarbon and energy, when nutrient supplies areimbalanced. These polyesters, known asbioplastics, contain long chains of monomerswhich join with each other by ester bond.Bioplastics are accumulated when bacterialgrowth is limited by depletion of nitrogen,phosphorous or oxygen and excess carbonsource is provided. There are varieties ofmaterials which areunutilized as carbon sourcefor the production of Bioplastics.

PHAs can be used for all sorts ofbiodegradable packaging materials, includingcompostingbags,foodpackaging,sanitary articleslike diapers and fishing nets, biodegradablerubbers, application in pharmacy and medicalscience scaffold for tissue engineering.

Petroleum price is increasing sharplyand its stock will end in the near future. It isimportant for global community to have analternative for the product derived frompetroleum oil such as plastics. PHAs at leastwill be a solution for most of the industriesand society, which largely depend on materialsmade of plastic. No new inventions can escape

from the limitations and drawbacks andbioplastic too havesome drawbacks. The mostimportant drawback for PHA production is itsproduction cost, but the good news is that theprice of PHA production is decreasing,whereas, petroleum oil price is increasingconstantly. As a result, the gap between thepetroleum oil and PHA prices are becomingvery narrow.

Conclusion

Conventional plastics, formed frompetroleum products, are one of the importantmaterials for the society but they are createdin a process which is harmful to theenvironment. In order to find alternatives, anew material has been developed known asbioplastic. Bioplastic has evolved into aninnovative area of research for scientistsaround the world. Thi s progre ss ivedevelopment has been driven by a need forenvironmentally friendly substitutes formaterials derived from fossil fuel sources. Inaddition, recent high prices for crude oil, andthe potential market for agricultural materialsin bioplastics is driving an economic pushtowards expanding the bioplastic industry andproviding better alternative for sustainabledevelopment of the future environment.

ReferencesMarjadi, D. and Dharaiya, N. 2010. Bioplastic: A betteralternative for sustainable future. Every man's Science, Vol.XLV(2): 90-92.www.soynewuses.org/downloads/.../DisposalblePlasticsMOS

* College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology,

OUAT, Bhubaneswar-751003.Email: plp_ouat@yahoo.co.in.

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5ScienceHorizon

"It leaves nothing more to be proved"(Julius Cohnheim, a German pathologist on

Koch's discovery of Anthrax life cycle.)

Such was the importance given to RobertKoch, the world over after his dramatic

isolation of an organism from Tuberculosis.

In the mid and late 19th century, scientists

were clueless about the invisible organisms

responsib le fo r infec tions . Scientis ts

interested in research in their respective fieldshad to invent new techniques to carry out their

experiments .These researchers made tireless

efforts to isolate and identify their organisms.

However, one great scientist gave shape anddirection to all future research, especially

medical research, and the credit goes to

Robert Koch. Prior to Robert Koch, there was

no such discipline known as Bacteriology. If

at all, anyone has consolidated Bacteriology

into a separate discipline, it was none otherthan Robert Koch. Though history is replete

with astounding achievements, it can be said

that Koch's achievement ranks amongst one of

themost important contributions to humankind.

Early Childhood

Robert HeinrichHermann Koch was bornon Dec 11, 1843 in klausthal, Hanover,

Germany to Hermann Koch, a mine inspector

and Mathilde Julie Henriette Biewend and was

ROBERT KOCH'S CONTRIBUTION TO BACTERIOLOGYK. Pravakar and

G. C. Sahoo

third of thirteen children. Edward Biewend,

uncle of Robert Koch, had a great influence

onyoungKoch.He generatedyoungHermann'sinterest in minerals, plants, small animals,

lichens, insect collection, nature andphotography. The genius of Koch was noticed

by his parents whenhe learned to readwith theaid of newspaper at the age of five. When

Koch was young, he had a desire to join navy,

was interested in travel, and explore the world.But due to their unaffordability, his father

wanted him to learn shoemaker's trade.

However, when the economic condition of thesenior Koch improved, he was sent to pursue

University education.

Education

Robert Koch started his education from

a local High School, known as Gymnasium.

His main interest was Botany and Literature.After his early education in 1862, he was

enrolled as a medical student in GottingenUniversity. As a student, Robert Koch was

influenced by Anatomist Jacob Henle, whohad published a theory of contagion in 1840.

Jacob Henle recruited Robert Koch as a student

of fifth semester to participate in a Researchproject on the structure of uterine nerves. An

excellent research paper presented on thisoccasion won Koch the first prize. During his

sixth semester, Koch took up a project on the

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JUNE, 2012

secretion of succinic acid in animals fed onfat. Koch was so enthusiastic about the projectthat he decided to experiment on himself, byeatinghalfa pound of buttereveryday. However,after five days he was sick of eating butter anddecided to confine his study on animals only.This particular study eventually became themain thrust of his dissertation. In 1866, Kochgraduated from a medical school with highestdistinction.

Service Career and Marriage

After his graduation, Robert Koch joinedthe Hamburg general hospital as an intern.While serving at the hospital he came in contactwith Emmy Fratz. He was madly in love withEmmy Fratz and proposed to her, but she gaveher consent for the wedding only if RobertKoch gave up his scheme of globe tottering.Robert Koch had to decide between the seaand the lady-love and ultimately he decided totie up the nuptial knot to Emmy Fratz andshelved his plans of adventure. She bore himtheir only daughter, Gertrud who later gotmarried to a doctor.

Robert Koch served in differentprovincial towns for a short while and thenmoved to Rakwitz as a physician. Whilecarrying out his practice he cleared the DistrictMedical Officer's examination. During thisperiod, the Franco-Prussian war broke out andhe volunteered in the army as a medical officer.After a short stint in the army he was appointedas a District Medical Officer at Wollstein, asmall town near the Polish border. It was

during this period that Koch was able to pursuehis Research actively that led to the unravelingthe mysteries of human infections. Though hecontinued to see patients, he converted part ofhis office into a research laboratory. He beganto exp lo re the unknown wor ld ofmicroorganisms with minimum equipment andsa microscope presented to him by his wife onhis twenty eighth birthday.

Research on Anthrax

Koch's inquisitive mind first wanted tostudy aetiology and mode of transmission ofAnthrax. Anthrax was responsible forconsiderable loss of livestock andeven humanswere not spared of this dreaded infection. Thebacillus responsible forAnthrax was identifiedby C. J. Davaine in 1868, but no significantadvances were made for the prevention ortreatment of this infection. With meticulousobservation, Koch confirmed the findings ofC. J. Davaine. One of the puzzling aspects ofAnthrax he found was that, the animalsacquired the infection by grazing in fieldswhere infected animals had grazed yearsbefore. Koch solved this problem by showingthat the vegetative bacillus developed spores,which could resist adverse environmentalconditions, and they could revert to vegetativeforms when the conditions were favourable.

Koch demonstrated his painstakingresults to Ferdinand Cohn, Professor of Botanyat the University of Breslau. Ferdinand Cohn

organized a meeting of other scientists of thattime, including the great German pathologist

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7ScienceHorizon

Julius Friedrich, Prof Friedrich Cohnheim,

Paul Ehr li ch the founde r of modemImmunology among others to witness his

experiments. In 1876, Koch's work waspublished in "Beitrage Zur Biolugie Derpflanzen" a popular medical journal by Cohn.Koch's work waswidely acclaimedin Germanyand he exclusively proved that "mysterioussubstances do not cause infectious diseasesbut specific organisms called microbes werethe causative agentsof specificdisease."These

agents were later named Bacteria.

During this period, the Government ofGermany wanted to encourage Koch in hishunt for the microbes and he was appointed a

member of the Reichsgesundheitsamt- theImperial health Bureau, in Berlin. He wasprovided with a well-equipped laboratory. Withhis assistants, Loeffler and Gaffky, hedeveloped techniques to isolate bacteria inpure culture in half-boiled potatoes and lateron in beef broths. Since he wanted to avoidunscientificclaimsofdiscoveryofmicroorganisms,he developed certain criteria if an organismis to be incriminated as an aetiological agent

in a particular disease. These were known asKoch's postulates. They include:

1. Finding the suspected organism in all

cases of the disease and demonstrate itsabsence in healthy individuals.

2. Isolating the organism in pure culture.

3. Reproducing the same disease in suitable

experimental animals.

4. Re-isolating the organism from the

diseased animals.

Koch later turned his attention towards

the most dreaded infection of all times-TheTuberculosis. Initially he observed the bacilli

fromthe tubercles, stained themand cultivated

them in laboratory animals. He isolated theorganisms in culture media, found that the

organisms were fastidious, and observed that

it took not less than two weeks to grow onthese media, where as he observed that the

B.anthracis would grow within 24 hrs on a

solid media. He experimented by inoculatingthe bacillus into all experimental animals he

could think of, including guinea-pigs, rabbits,

dogs, cats, chickens and pigeons. Beforedecidingtomakehis findings public, he worked

out the mode of transmission by inoculating

the guinea pigs in aerosols.

Finally, in March 1882 Koch announced

his findings at a meeting in the Physiological

Society, in the presence of the leading

scientists of his days. This astounding news

spread, not only through out Europe but also

across the Atlantic and was splashed on the

front pages of newspapers. In addition, those

interested doctors and scientists boarded the

available means of travel to Berlin to study the

results of Koch's exploits. This epoch making

observations of Koch shook the earth but

Robert Koch was very modest by saying "this

discovery of mine is not such a great advance".

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Research on Cholera

In 1883, there wasan outbreakof Cholera

in Egypt and Koch with his team arrived in

Egypt to investigate the epidemic. Koch

identified a comma shaped bacillus in the

intestine of the cholera patients within three

weeks. However, he could not completely

satisfy the four postulates, as he could not

initiate the infection in animals. To confirm

the findings in Egypt Koch landed in Calcutta,

India where an epidemic of cholera broke out.

In India, he observed the same comma shaped

bacillus in the victims of cholera and was

convinced beyond doubt that it was caused by

a bacillus and held poor sanitation and hygiene

responsible for the spread.

After ascertaining the aetiology of

cholera, Koch was appointed as a professor

and administrator at Berlin University. During

this period he experimented with the treatment

of Tuberculosis by making a claim that he had

a cure for the dreaded infection and he named

his inoculumas tuberculin.Again,people from

different corners of the globe flocked to Berlin

in the fond hope of a cure for Tuberculosis.

But soon it was realized that tuberculin was

not a perfect cure for Tuberculosis and infact

it produced adverse reactions in some

patients. Initially, Koch did not divulge the

contents of the preparation but later on was

forced to reveal the contents as it was not

found to be safe. Koch faltered and drew

crit ic ism from his peers in this one

experiment.

Added to the failure of tuberculin, Koch

had to bear a personal setback, Differences

arose in Koch's family and the marriage which

lasted twenty five years ending in a divorce.At

fifty, he immediately married HedwigFreiberg,

an actress, thirty years his junior. Koch was in

the news for these two wrong reasons for

some time. However, the German government

continued to support Koch and it had

established an institute for infectious diseases

and made Koch as the Director. Koch plunged

in to his research activities again and gained

some of the lost reputation due to tuberculin

episode by provingthat tuberculin though could

not be used as a cure could be used as a

diagnostic tool.

In 1892, there was an outbreakof cholera

in Hamburgand Koch advocated strict sanitary

conditions. Koch's germ theory of cholera

was challenged and mocked by a senior

hygienist, Max Von Pettenkofer who drank a

culture of cholera. Fortunately, he was not

affected by cholera and this gave him the

reason to sneer at the findings of Koch .But

Koch was strongly convinced that Vibrios were

responsible for cholera and diverted his energy

in preventing the outbreak by adopting strict

sanitary measures.

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9ScienceHorizon

In the followingyears, Koch handed over

the charge of the institute to his subordinates

and left to far off places such as India, New

Guinea, Africa and Italy to study various

unexplained fevers. Koch was honoured with

many awards not only by the German

government but also throughout the world and

the notable honour being the award of the

noble prize in physiology and medicine for his

work on tuberculosis. Furthermore, the

German government established the Robert

Koch medal to honour the greatest living

physicians and with the help of U.S.

philanthropist Andrew Carnegie established

the Robert Koch foundation to work towards

the eradication of tuberculosis.

Robert Koch's reputation

Finally, Koch settled down at the Institute

and worked towards refinement of tuberculin

test. In addition to this, he carried out

experiments to study if the bovine and human

Tuberculosis were the same. Koch did not live

long to find answer to some of the questions

that he would have liked to. Koch hada massive

heart attack and he died on May 27,1910 at

Baeden. Koch's obituaries are full of praise of

a man who possessed Research acumen,

scientific temper and perseverance. But his

genius also made a man who was arrogant,

stubborn in hisviews and his inability to accept

his mistakes. Apart from his blunders that

include the use of tuberculin as a treatment

for tuberculosis, that the bovine tuberculosis

is different from human tuberculosis the

contributions of Koch led to the establishment

of a discipline known as Bacteriology. The list

of Robert Koch's achievemen ts or

contributions is exhaustive but he is

remembered for the pioneering techniques of

study in bacteriology and discovery of the

aetiological agents of Tuberculosis, Cholera

andAnthrax.

In its obituary column of June 5, 1910,

the New York Times published an article on

Robert Koch "German Scientist,WhenYoung,

Wanted to Join Brothers here". As a boy,

Robert Koch desired to join several of his

brotherswhohadimmigrated toAmerica.Koch

was highly dissatisfied with the conditions in

Germany and wanted to leave Germany due to

Political discontent. However, Koch's father

wanted at least one of his sons to stay back in

Germany and that decision marred his

ambitions of leaving Germany. It was sheer

quirk of fate that Robert Koch stayed back in

Germany and made remarkable contributions

to the field of medicine. Had Robert Koch

realized his ambition of immigrating to

America, the History of Medicine and the

Course of Research in bacteriology would not

have been the same.

Professor and Head, ENT,Raja Muthia Medical College and Hospital,

Annamalai UniversityAnnamalai Nagar-608002

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JUNE, 2012

Medicines are part of our life. They are

perhaps the greatest weapons of mankind to

fight diseases and illness. They save our lives

and promote good health. For many centuries

people all over the world have discovered and

used medicines, obtained fromnatural sources

to treat illnesses. Most of these medicines are

obtained from plants. India has always been a

rich source of medicinal plants. Since the

early 1900s we have learned developing

synthetic version of these medicines.

Synthetic means, they are artificially prepared

in the laboratory using chemical processes.

The majority of the modern medicines

available in the market are synthetics.

The modern medicines are very effective

but they are toxic too, at the same time. The

chemicals that are synthesized in an attempt to

develop these for medicinal purposes undergo

a series of processes to assess their

effectivenessas wellas toxicity. The chemicals

that are identified through these experiments

to have more benefit risk ratio, successfully

emerge as medicines. Everyday new medicines

are needed to fight the diseases for which no

cure is available at present, or as an alternative

to existing medicines with improved safety

and effectiveness. The development of new

medicines is always a prime concern for

medical, biomedical, and chemical scientists.

RESEARCH METHODS IN MODERN MEDICINEGuru Prasad Mohanta

This is important for pharmaceutical industries

too, where they employ scientists and invest

good amount of money on research to discover

medicines. Though many of the medicines in

current use were discovered by experimental

trial and observation in animals and human

subjects, of late, more rational approach is

followed in drug discovery. In general, the

process of drug discovery, beginning with a

promising chemicalsubstance to its availability

for our use requires 10-15 years of tireless

pursuit. The average cost of the development

of medicine is estimated to be around US

Dollar 800 million to 1 Billion (One million

= 10 lakh and One billion = 100 crore).

Random screen ing, chemica l

modi fi ca tion of known medicine ,

biotechnology, or other techniques lead to

identification of lead compounds, that could

be used as medicine. The lead compound has

fundamental biological or pharmacological

properties. When one or more promising

compounds or lead compounds are in hand, it

becomes necessary to test them extensively

for efficacy and safety in living cell cultures

and animal models. This phase of evaluation

of the compounds is known as pre-clinical

testing. On passing the test of pre-clinical

testing, the compounds are tested on human

beings (healthy persons and patients) for

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11ScienceHorizon

ensuring efficacy and safety. This phase of

testing is called clinical trials. The present

article explains the preclinical testing of

the promising compounds and the second

part of the article explains the process of

clinical trials.

The primary aim of the preclinical(animal testing) is to obtain basic

information on promising compound's

effects that may be used to predict safe andeffective use in humans. The testing is

divided basically into two broad categories

of activities: pharmacological test ing(testing to know its medicinal properties)

and toxicological testing.

While the animal testing data are

essential before getting permission to

perform clinical trials, the animal activists

and the animal lovers have been arguing

aga inst the use of anima ls for

experimentations. You might have observed

that recently less and less biological

experiments use whole animals. Now it is

obligatory to obtain the clearancefrom animal

ethics committee be fore doing these

experiments.

Testing of pain relieving activity (analgesic

action):Mice are placed on electrically heated

hot plate maintained at 55-56°C. The response

is measuredby observing jumping, withdrawals

of paws and licking of paws. Normally the

animals show these responses in 6-8 seconds.

If the medicinal substance has analgesic

property, it would increase this reaction time

(there would be delay in response). Delay in

response indicates the pain relieving property.

Testing of antibacterial activity: The

bacteria, against whose the substance is

expected to be effective, are artificiallycultured (grown) in the laboratory using culture

media in petri dishes. The petri dishes are

filled to a uniform depth with culture medialike nutrient agar which has been mixed

(inoculated) with suitable organism. When the

agar solidifies, the holes are cut into themedium using sterile borer. Solutions of the

test medicinal substance are placed in these

holes. On incubation at suitable temperature(37-39°C) for 16 hours, the petri dishes are

examined to find out the effect of the test

substance. A clear circular zone around thehole is an indication of activity.

The testing of test substance is always

conducted with a reference control in order to

judge its comparative effectiveness.

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The scientists have developed many

alternate techniques to study the identified

molecule for its biological activities. These

techniques use cell, tissueculture, andcomputer

programmes that simulate human and animal

systems. Cell cultures are being increasingly

used for toxicity testing before performing the

similar studies in whole animals.

Pharmacological (Study of Medicines)

Testing: The identified molecule is tested to

understand its effects on biological system

like biochemical and physiological effects

and their mechanisms. The study is also done

to understand how body handles the molecule.

The process of evaluatingchemical compounds

for biologic activity and determination of their

mechanisms of action is done by scientists

called pharmacologists. The study is conducted

in a step by step process through increasing

sophisticated levels of evaluation, based on

test compound's success in different studies.

Whole animal studies are reserved for testing

compounds that have demonstrated reasonable

potentialas medicinal substances.Most animal

testing is done on small animals, usually

rodents (mouse, rats), because they are easily

available at cheaper rate, and easy to handle.

However, for final testing two or more species

of animals are used. Dog is an useful model

for studying hypertension (blood pressure),

respiratory and diuretic effects. This study is

followed by further research on metabolism

(biotransformation) to understand how the

promising medicinal substance is metabolized

in the body. The metabolism is the basic

process of transforming the substance to polar

compound for easy removal by the body's

excretory system. Liver is the main organ of

metabolism. Two animal species such as one

rodent and other non rodent (dog) species are

used for this metabolism study.

Toxicological Testing (Safety Testing):

No medicine is safe at all doses. All are toxic

at some dose. Toxicity is the most difficult

property to be evaluated because it could be

species specific, organ specific and could

involve multiple host factors often requiring

chronic dosing. The toxicity studies are

undertaken to determine the test medicinal

substances: potential for toxicity with short

term (acute toxicity) and long term use

(chronic toxicity); potential for organ toxicity;

dose relationship; reproductive or teratogenic

toxicity and potential for carcinogenic and

genotoxicity.

The short term toxicity testing aimed at

findingout the largest single dose that will not

produce a toxic effect, the dose level at which

serious toxicity occurs. During this study, the

animals are observed and compared with

controls (animals to which medicinal substance

is not given) for eating and drinking habits,

weight change, toxic effects etc. over a period

of 30 days after giving the test substance.

JUNE, 2012

13ScienceHorizon

Histopathology study is also done to find out

the toxicity in organs. The sub-acute study

includes giving the test medicinal substance

daily for a minimum period of two weeks to

two animal species. The study is aimed at

finding the initial dose for human testing. The

chronic toxicity testing involves giving the

substancefor twoto sixmonths if the substance

is intended for one week or more in humans.

Medicines meant for chronic illnesses, animal

studies for one year or longer is required. The

prospective medicinal substance is also tested

to know its reproductive performance in

mammalian species to assess fertility and

mating behavior. The animal studies are

continued to assess whether the substance has

cancer causing effects and whether they affect

the stability of genes.

The pre-clinical experiments on animals

are done to help decide whether the drug can

be tested on human beings.Animal experiments

eliminate some potential drugs as either

ineffective or too dangerous to use on human

beings. If a drug passes the animal test, it is

then tested on a small human group before

large scale clinical trial. The animal toxicity

data are required in the dossier for seeking

permission for conducting clinical trials. The

preclinical testing results are the foundation

of clinical testing.

Department of Pharmacy, Annamalai University,P.O. : Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu - 608002,

E. mail: gpmohanta@hotmail.com

Our state, Odisha is situated along the

East coast, embedded by Bay of Bengal and

having a long coastline of 480.4 Kms long.

This long coast line is interspersed by the

compliance of 10 major rivers such as

Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha,

Budhabalanga, Rushikulya etc. falling into the

Bay of Bengal and thus creating numerous

isolates anddeltas. TheCoastal Zone of Odisha

spreads over an approximate area of 22,800

sq.kms, spanning over the 6 coastal districts

of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapa ra ,

Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam.

Coastal Erosion

Coastal environment is a complex and

dynamic eco-system, where there is a constant

interaction between land, sea and air,

culminating in shore line changes. The

landward displacement of the shore line caused

by the forces of waves and currents, is termed

as 'Coastal Erosion'. In fact coastal erosion is

the wearing away of land and the removal of

beach or dune sediments or loss of sub aerial

land mass, into sea or lake due to natural

processes like wave action, wave current or

drainage.Although coastal erosion is a chronic

problem, it is very often considered as

COASTAL EROSIONIN ODISHA

Bijay Ketan Patnaik

ScienceHorizon14

JUNE, 2012

inevitable alongmost open shores, as a natural

phenomenon. While the effects of waves,

currents, tides and wind are primary natural

factors that influence the coast profile, various

anthropogenic factors also trigger beach

erosion. These include construction of

artificial structures along the foreshore,

mining of beach sand, off shore dredging or

building dams across river basins. These

developments at times are not compatible

with the dynamic nature of shoreline.

Problems of Coastal Ecosystem

Because of increasing utilisation of

coastal region for developmental purposes

like industries, fishing, harbors facility etc.

and vulnerability to natural hazards, sea- level

rise, the following changes are observed along

the coast line :

a) Shifting of the shore line

b) Coastal erosion

c) Formation of sand bars at the in-lets of

water bodies

d) Change in velocity and currents of coastal

water

e) Littoral drift

f) On shore/Off shore sediment transport

g) Sand mining

h) Siltation

i) Change in beach profile

Erosion along Odisha coast

Coastal areas of Odisha state are

potentially vulnerable to accelerated erosion

hazards along the 480 km coast line. Most of

the coastal areas including tourist resorts,

hotels at Puri fishing villages and towns at

Gopalpur of Ganjam district, Pentha and

Satavaya village of Kendrapara district are

already threatened by storm, flood and severe

coastal erosion. The location of major

ecological habitat and delicate systems along

the coast, such as the largest rookeries in the

world of Olive Ridley sea turtles(the extensive

sandy beach of Gahirmatha and Rushikulya)

Asia's largest brakish water lagoon, the Chilika

lake, Mahanadi delta, the second largest delta

in India, extensive mangroves of Bhitarkanika

are also threatened time and again fromcoastal

erosion angle.

To cite a few examples, the coast close

to Pentha Village is continuously eroding. In

July 2007, the saline embankment was in great

danger of collapsing. The continuous buffeting

of the shore by the waves along this stretch

had resulted in the coast line receding

landwards by 200 to 300 meters. The situation

of Pentha village was also studied by

Geological Survey of India, revealing periods

of accretion and erosion related in all

probability to climate change, sea-level

JUNE, 2012

15ScienceHorizon

fluctuations and human activity. Similarly,

panic had gripped the Puri town, a few years

ago, when tidal waves washed away not only

a part of the beach, but also the adjoining

stretch of road, newly constructed from Palm

beach hotel to Ssterling Resort, violating

CRZ norms.

In the year 2008, the ingress of sea

waters along the tourist highway, connecting

Puri and Konark, the entire 'belabhumi ' area

including Paradeep port ,Chil ika lake,

Gopalpur and Rajnagar had caused fresh

worries. It was debated whether the same

could be attributed to the after effects of

dreadful Tsunami of December 2004? During

the years 2008 and 2009, the sea at Gopalpur

in Ganjam district was in spate. Due to

ingress of sea the lighthouse on the shore ,

sea side wall of Oberai Hotel and some

buildings constructed sea ward and site were

damaged. This phenomenon occurred mostly

in pre winter period, just after rains, when

sediments are moved offshore by high energy

storm waves.

Shore line Change Assessment for

Odisha Coast

A study on shore line change assessment

for Odisha coast was entrusted to Prof. R.

Ramesh ofAnna University, Chennai, working

for MoEF's National Centre for Sustainable

Coastal Management. According to the study

report released during April 2011 around 187

km of 480 km stretch of Odisha coast is

exposed to high, medium and low type of

erosion. This accounts for 36.8 % of the coast

line. Out of this 39.3 km i.e. 8.2% was

identified as high erosion zone. This is found

mostly towards North of Devi River in Puri/

Jagatsinghpur district, north of Balijhari river

in Jagatsinghpur district. South of Bitikolia

River in Jagatsinghpur district and Bansagarh

river in Kendraparadistrict. High erosion could

also be found towards north of Subarnarekha

river in Balasore district. 51.96 kmi.e. 10.82%

stretch of beach falls under medium erosion

zone. The report also indicated that the

phenomenon of beach erosion is more

pronounced to the north of Gopalpur port and

Paradeep port across Jatadhar mouth, to the

south of Dhamara and proposed Astaranga

port. Medium and lower type erosion is also

observedin Puri beach,Konark-Chandrabhaga-

Ramachandi beach.

Wildlife experts and scientists are more

worried about intensive erosion taking place

around the mass nesting sites of famous Olive

Ridley sea Turtles. Since, probably half of the

world population of Olive Ridley'sarebreeding

along the east coast of Odisha, global

conservation attention is concentrated here

ScienceHorizon16

JUNE, 2012

and geomorphological changes of the nesting

beaches are monitored regularly. Beach

erosion was observed to begin during March

which reached the peak during the month of

August. A higher rate of erosion is taking

place between Satabhaya and Gahirmatha, a

well known rookery of the endangered turtles

in the Kendrpara district. This has resulted in

complete annihilation of Nasi I and Nasi II

beach and drastic reduction of the beach

bordering Wheeler Island. The total beach

length here has been reduced to almost 1

kilometer. The beach erosion has also

threatened the very existence of strategic

Wheeler Island.

Wind constantly moves sand along the

beach. When this natural event is artificially

obstructed by the construction of a port, then,

on one side of the port, sand gets accumulated

or piled up and the other side of beach

constantly gets eroded and bare rock gets

exposed gradually. It is said by experts that the

beaches ac ross Satabhaya vi llage of

Kendrapara district got eroded leading to

ingress of sea water into the land mass only

after the construction of Paradeep port.

Presently, there are plans to have ports in all

major river mouths of Odisha. Notably among

these are the Dhamara port at Dhamara river

mouth and Barunei port at Mahanadi river

mouth close to either side of Gahirmatha

mass nesting beach which may greatly impact

sea-turtle congregation areas. Ultimately there

will be large scale nest destruction due to

beach erosions and shrinking of the nesting

habitats. Port at Astaranga, close to Devi mass

nesting beach and port at Gopalpur, close to

Rushikulya mass nestingbeach, may also face

similar problem in future. Therefore the

wildlife scientist fervently pleaded for

preservation of only 80 km stretch beach

around these three mass nesting sites as 'No

Disturbance Zone'.

Conclusion

Coastal areas are of enormous socio-

economic importance, both because of their

traditional resources, like fish, tourist

potent ia l, commerci al and resident ia l

development as well as new types of resources

such as wave energy, off-shore mining, marine

resources. The high economic value of these

areas and relative facilities coupled with

vulnerability to natural hazards, sea-level rise

and various anthropogenic activities and not

compatible with the dynamic nature of our

shore line, makes the preservation and

management of coastal zone resources,

ecologically more important.

Former P.C.C.F. (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, OdishaPlot No. 57, At-Jagamohan Nagar, Jagamara,

Bhubaneswar-751030

JUNE, 2012

17ScienceHorizon

Introduction

Clouds are a key component of the

Earth's climate system.They can both heat the

planet by trapping the longer-wavelength

radiation given off from the Earth's surface

and cool it by reflecting incoming shorter

wavelength radiation back into space. Cloud

seeding is a weather modification technique

which is used to disperse fog, increase

precipitation level and suppress hail. In cloud

seeding, planes drop ice crystals or salt crystals

into clouds, increasing the precipitation of

rain. It is also knownas artificial rain.In Odisha

many districts have been declared as drought

hit areas. In the year 2011, the monsoon was

delayed by two weeks in Odisha, which badly

affected farming. But despite the arrival of the

monsoon, some of the districts of western

"CLOUD SEEDING" AN EFFECTIVE WAY TOFIGHT AGAINST DROUGHT

Sarada Prasad Mohapatra

Odisha received scanty rainfall. The farmers

of these districts have failed to sow paddy and

other crops.

How does Cloud Seeding Work ?

1. Fine silver iodide is fered into cloud

using flares on planes or from ground.

2. Water droplets attach to these particles,

falling as snow which melts into rain.

3. This boosts updrafts, which pulls moist

air into clouds.

There are three methods of seed clouding

Artificial rain can be produced by-

1. static cloud seeding,

2. dynamic cloud seeding,

3. hygroscopic cloud seeding.

ScienceHorizon18

JUNE, 2012

Static cloud seeding involves spreading

a chemical like silver iodide into clouds.

The silver iodide provides a crystal

around which moisture can condense.

The moisture is already present in the

clouds, but silver iodide essentially

makes rain clouds more effective at

dispensing their water.

Dynamic cloud seeding aims to boost

vertical air currents, which encourages

more water to pass through the clouds,

translating into more rain .Up to 100

times more ice crystals are used in

dynamic cloud seeding than in the static

method. The process is considered more

complex than static cloud seeding

because it depends on a sequence of

events working properly. Dr. William R.

Cotton, a professor of atmospheric

science at Colorado State University,

and other researchers break down

dynamic cloud seeding into 11 separate

stages. An unexpected outcome in one

stage could ruin the entire process,

making the technique less dependable

than static cloud seeding.

Hygroscopic cloud seeding disperses

salts through flares or explosives in the

lower portions of clouds. The salts grow

in size as water joins with them. In his

report on cloud seeding, Cotton says

that hygroscopic cloud seeding holds

much promise, but requires further

research.

Conclusion

Today there is acute water shortage in

several States. Some farmers commit suicide

due to the recurring droughts and the

consequential failure of crops. There is

growing evidence that human activities are

adversely influencing the weather conditions

from local to global scales in terms of climate

change Cloud seeding is an effective weapon

against drought. Cloudseeding has been widely

used in other parts of the world to ease the

drought situation. It has also been used in

India. In this way cloud seeding can ease the

drought situation not only in Odisha but also

in other drought-hit areas of India.

Lecturer in Botany, S.C.S Jr college, Puri

E Mail- babuni0808@yahoo.co.in

JUNE, 2012

19ScienceHorizon

IntroductionHistory of mathematics is replete with

very interesting theorems. Theydate backto 300B.C. or even earlier. Some of the theorems arevery popularandfindcirculationamongthe loversof mathematics. There are others which havefound application in various fields of science.

1. The Brachistochrone Problem

Suppose that a point A is jointed by astraight wire to a lower point B in the samevertical plane. Let a bead be allowed to slide,without friction, down the wire from A to B

under the influence of gravity only. Nextsuppose that the wire is bentinto an arc of a circle (Fig.1)and the bead is allowed tomove along the wire fromA to B . The question is“which descent takes theleast time” Galileo believedthat the bead would descendmore quickly along thecircular path. Do we agreewith him?

In 1696, John Bernoulli posed a moregeneral problem. Suppose that the wire is bentinto the shape of arbitrary curve. His questionwas “which curve among the infinitely manypossibilities will give the shortest possibletime of descent?” This curve is called thebrachistochrone (“brah-kiss-toe-krone”), fromthe Greek word, brachistos meaning shortestand chronos meaning time. We view thisproblem intwo different angles, viz;(i) Calculusof Variations and (ii) Refraction of Light.

THE BRACHISTO CHRONE PROBLEM AND THE CYCLOIDN. Parhi

We take the y-axis in the direction of thegravitational force and make the downwardy-coordinates positive (Fig-2).At A, the beadis at rest and hence the 0=..EK . If we assumethat A is at a height h from the ground level,then ..EP at mghA = , where m is the mass of

the bead and g is acceleration due to gravity..

At an arbitrary point ),(= yxPP on the

cur 2

21=.. mvEK where v is the velocity of the

bead and )(=.. yhmgEP . From the law of

conservation of energy it follows that

ghv 2= .

If S is the arc length,222 )()(=)( dydxdS and v

dtdS = . Hence

dxgydxdy

gy

dydxdS

gydt

2

1=

2

)()(=

21=

2

22

Figure-1

Figure-2

ScienceHorizon20

JUNE, 2012

If fT is the time taken by the bead along

a particular path )(= xfy from A to B , then

(1)2

1=

2

1

0

dx

gydxdy

Tx

f

Now the question is “what curve

)(= xfy minimizes fT ?”. This can be done by

the calculus of variations. The required curve

is the Cycloid (It is explained below). Suppose

that a ray of light travels from A to P with

velocity 1v andtravels fromB to P with velocity

2V . Suppose that B is in a denser medium.

Hence 21 > vv . From Fig. 3(a) it follows that

the total time T required for the journey of

light from A to B though P is given by

11= TVAP and 22= TVPB , where 21= TTT

1

22

1 =v

xaT

and

2

22

2

)(=

vxcb

T

2

22

1

22 )(=

vxcb

vxaT

will give the

shortest possible time.

If we assume that this ray of light is ableto select its path from A to B through in such

a way that T is minimum, then 0,=dxdT

that is, ,)(

=22

222

1 xcbv

xc

xav

x

that is,2

2

1

1 =v

sinv

sin .

This is called Snell’s law of refraction.The assumption that the light travels from one

point to another along the path requiring theFigure-3 (a)

Figure-3 (b)

Figure-3 (c)

JUNE, 2012

21ScienceHorizon

shortest time is called Fermat’s principle ofleast time. Suppose we have four layers ofdifferent mediums (media. Suppose that thevelocity of light is constant in an individuallayer but decreases from each layer to the one

below it(see Fig. 3(b)). Applying Snell’s law

we get4

4

3

3

2

2

1

1 ===v

sinv

sinv

sinv

sin .

If we assume that these layers growthinner and hence more numerous, then in thelimiting case the velocity of light decreasescontinuously as the raydescends and we get

aconstantv

sin =(see

Fig. 3(c)). Coming to

Fig.2, we have gyv 2= and

22 )(1

1=1

1=1==ytansec

cossin

.

Hence ,=))((1 2 cyy a constant. Thisis the diffe rential equat ion of the

brachistochrone. The above equation may be

wr it ten as ,=12

cdxdy

y

tha t is ,

dycy

ydx1/2

=

.

We assume that1/ 2

1/ 2

ysinc

and1/ 2

1/ 2

( )cos c yc

(2)=1/2

cyy

tan

Hence and (from above) integrating

we get dcoscsindycsiny 2=,= 2 and(from above) dcoscdcsindytandx )2(1=2== 2

integrating we get (3))2(22

= 1 csinc

x

This curve is to pass through the origin

0).=0=( andyxA Hence 0= by (2) 0=1C

by (3) . Th us )2(22

= sincx and)2(1

2== 2 coscdcsiny . Taking 2

= ca and

,2= we obt ai n

)(1=),(= cosaysinax . Th is isparametric equation of the cycloid.

2. The Cycloid and its properties

Take a circular wire of radius ‘a’. Put iton the horizontal plane and mark point ‘O’where it touches the ground. Roll it on astraight line on the horizontal plane. The pathtraced by the marked point is the Cycloid.After a full tern, the point ‘O’ takes the positionof the point ‘B’ on the straight line. Hencelength of the arch is the perimeter of thegenerating circle. The process continues. Inthe following we discuss some geometricproperties of the cycloid.

Figure-4

(i) Length of one arch of the cycloid is

equal to 4 times the diameter of the generating

ci rcle. Indeed, i f L= length of arch OAB, then

2π 2 2

0L = dx/dθ + dy/dθ dθ

2π 1/22 2

0= a 1+ θ-2cosθ+ θ dθcos sin

2π

0= sin(θ/2)dθ= 8a

This is known as Wren’s theorem.

Christopher Wren (1632-1723), the greatest

ScienceHorizon22

JUNE, 2012

English architects, was an astronomer and

mathematician. He built St. Paul’s Cathedral

in London.

(ii) The area under one arch of the cycloid is

equal to 3 times the area of the generating

circle.From the parametric equations of the

cycloid we get .=),(1=

asinddycosa

ddx

Hence2π 2π

0 0A = y dx = a(1- cosθ)a(1- cosθ)dθ

2π2 2 2

0= a (1- 2cosθ+cos θ)dθ= 3πa

It is known as Torricelli’s theorem.

Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647) was an

Italian physicist and mathematician and a

disciple of Galileo, whom he served as

secretary. He gave the correct ideas about

atmospheric pressure and the nature of

vacuums. He invented barometer to measure

atmospheric pressure.

(iii) The cycloid is a tautochrone (“taw-toe-

krone”), a same time curve for O and B.

Aswe arrive at B for = , then B is )2,( aa .

For the cycloid, we obtain from(1)

ga

dcosgacosa

gydydx

Ta

xcycloid

=

)(12)2(2

=2

=2

0=

22

0=

Thus, the amount of time it takes the

frictionless bead to slide down the cycloid to

B after it is released from rest at O is ga/ .

Suppose that instead of starting the bead

at O we st ar t at some lo wer poi nt

).,0)(>=( 0000 yxP The beads velocity at

any later point ),( yxP on the cycloid is

)(2=)(2= 00 coscosgayygv .

Accordingly, the time required for the

bead to slide from ),( 00 yx down to B can be

shown to be given by ga/ .

Thus the bead takes the same amount of

time to reach B, no matter where it starts. This

proves that the cycloid is a ‘tautochrone’.

Remarks:

The Visvesvaraya Science museum in

Bangalore displays a model concerning the

brachistochrone problem. When a visitor

presses a button two balls of different colours

are re lea sed simultaneously at the

position‘A’(Fig.2). One ball moves along the

straight path and the other moves along the

cycloidal path. It is distinctly visible that the

latter reaches the position‘B’(Fig.2) earlier to

the former.

Figure-5

To study motion along an upside-down

cycloid under the influence of gravity, we turn

Fig.4 upside- down. This points the -axis in the

direction of gravitational force and makes the

down-ward y-coordinates positive. The

coordinates of an arbitrary point P on the

cycloid is given by ).,( acosaasina

JUNE, 2012

23ScienceHorizon

3. Bernoulli Family

It would be appropriate to mention a few

points about the famous Bernoulli family whenthe brachistochrone problem is being

discussed. In three generations this remarkable

Swiss family produced eight mathematicians

of repute, three of them outstanding. JamesBernoulli (1654-1705) studied theology at

the insistence of his father but switched over

to mathematics as soon as it was possible. Hestudied the new calculus of Newton and

Leibniz. He wrote papers on infinite series,

studied many special curves, invented polarcoordinates and introduced the Bernoulli

numbers, that appear in the power series

expansion of the function . He was professorof mathematics at Basel from 1687 until his

death. John Bernoulli (1667-1748) was his

youngerbrother. He studied medicine and took

a doctor’s degree at Basel in 1694 for histhesis on muscle contraction. He switched

over to mathematics, being fascinated by

calculus. He quickly mastered it and applied itto many problems in geometry, differential

equations and mechanics. In 1695 he was

appointed professor of mathematics andphysics at Groningen in Holland and later

succeeded hi s brothe r accepting the

professorship at Basel on James’s death. The

Bernoulli brothers, some times, worked onthe same problems but quarreled in the public

for the credit; as it happened over the

brachistochrone problem. In 1696 John

proposed the problem as a challenge to the

mathematicians of Europe. It aroused great

interest. it was solved by Newton and Leibniz,

as well as by Bernoulli brothers. John’s

solution, which is discussed here, was more

elegant, while James’s solution was clumsy

and laborious, although it is more general. The

brothers quarrelled over the problem, which

took a very nasty turn. John was more

quarrelsome. Later, in a fit of jealous rage, he

threw his son, Daniel out of the house for

having won a prize from the French Academy

which he covetedfor himself. Daniel Bernoulli

(1700-1782) studied medicine, like his father

and received a degree on the basis of a thesis

about ‘the action of the lungs’. Later, he

changed over to mathematics and became a

professor of mathematics at St. Petersburg,

Russia. In 1733, he returned to Basel and was

successively professor of botany, anatomy and

physics. He won ten prizes from the French

Academy, including the one that infuriated his

father. He published many works on physics,

probability, calculus and differential equations.

Many people consider him to be the first

genuine ‘mathematical physicist’.

Reference:

G.F. Simmons, Differentials Equations

with Application and Historical Notes, Tata -Mc-Graw-Hill Pub.Co., New Delhi ,2003.

MIG-II, Plot No.249, Satyasai Enclave, Khandagiri,

Bhubaneswar.

ScienceHorizon24

JUNE, 2012

Hydroponics is a method of growing

plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water

wuthout soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown

with their roots in the nutrient solution only,

or in medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral

wool and coconut husk etc. The word

"Hydroponics" was derived from the Greek

word,hydro, whichmeans "water"and "ponos"

means labor or water working". Hydroponics

is the practice of growing plants in either a

bath or flow of highly oxygenated nutrient or

enriched water. The term 'hydroponics' was

first used by Dr.W.F.Gericks in the late 1930s

to describe a method of growing plants with

roots immersed in an aerated dilute solution

of nutrients. More recently, the definition of

hydroponics has been broadened to read, "the

cultivation of plants without soil".

Hydroponics has been practised for

centuries. It is thought that the HangingGardens

of Babylon were a hydroponic system. In its

modern form it was developed during the

Second World War. US Air force personnel

used hydroponics to grow crops at military

bases in the Middle East and Pacific. Presently

there are hydroponic home gardens and

commercial croppingoperations in the United

States and many other countries. Under this

system, plants can be grown closer together

than in the field, thereby increasingyields and

THE SCIENCE OF HYDROPONICSBishnu Prasad Behera

multiplecropping can be practiced. In addition

to conserving space, hydroponics almost

eliminates weed and pest problems. The cost

of equipment is high and personnel must be

trained. Here the plants are held upright by

wiresupports or are rooted in a sterile medium,

e.g. pure sand or gravel. The nutrient solutions

must supply in optimum concentrations and in

correct balance, the elements such as nitrogen,

phosphorus, potassium and other essential

nutrients normally found in soil. Other names

of this are soil less gardening, soil less culture

(Fig.l), chemi-culture and water gardening.

Growingsubstrataforhydroponicsystems

A substrata growing system is a

hydroponic system, where the root zone is

physically supported by media. The plants are

fed by applying nutrient solution to the media.

This system is in contrast to an NFT type

hydroponic system, where the root system is

not supported by a growing media, but is

bathed directly in the nutrient solution.Almost

any material that supports the root system,

other than soil, is considered as substrata.

This can be organic, such as peat, pine bark,

sawdust, rice husk etc. These can be petroleum

based such as polymeric foams or plastic

beads or can be inorganic mineral based like

sand, gravel, perlite, and rock wool etc.

JUNE, 2012

25ScienceHorizon

Basically there are two main kinds of

hydroponics, solution culture and medium

cultures. Solution culture does not use a solid

medium for the roots, just the nutrient solution.

Solution culture

Here plants are grown in a container

with a nutrient solution. The container utilized

may differ, however in larger operations, a

tank system is used. This may differ, one may

grow plants in a pot as small as mason jar.

Solution culture may be categorized as static

solution culture, continuous flow solution

culture and aeroponics.

Continuous flow solution culture

In this case there is a continuous flow of

nutrient solution to the roots. One can possibly

automate this flow as compared to static flowand control the quantity of nutrients being

sent to the root system.

Aeroponics

In aeroponics, the nutrient solution is

supplied via a fine mist released to the roots

that are dangling in an air chamber. The

advantage here is the excellent oxygenation;

the plants get by not having its roots dangling

in the solution.

Medium culture

Instead of soil, other solid mediums are

utilized, just to cultivate plants. This might be

peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, coco peat,

wool or gravel (Fig.2). Rock wool is the most

widely used medium in hydroponics. It is

made from molten rock, basalt or slag that is

spun into bundles of single filament fibers and

bonded into a medium capable of capillary

action. Baked clay pellets, also known as

expanded clay (Fig.3) are suitable for

hydroponic systems in which all nutrients are

carefully controlled in water solution. Coco

peat is coir, the leftover material after the

fibers have been removed from the outermost

shell of the coconut. Coir has the appearance

and texture like soil, it contains no mineral

content. Perlite is a volcanic rock that has

Static solution culture

In this kind of solution culture, the

roots hang in the solution, which is

occasionally gently aerated. And in order toprovide oxygenation to the root, the solution

should be low enough to expose several parts

of the roots.

Fig. 1 : Plants grown in soil less culture

ScienceHorizon26

JUNE, 2012

been superheated into very light weight

expanded glass pebbles. It is used loose or in

plastic sleeves immersed in the water. Like

perlite, vermiculite is another mineral that has

been superheated until; it has expanded into

light pebbles. Vermiculite holds more water

than perliteandhas a natural"wicking" property

that can draw water and nutrients in a passive

hydroponic system. Sterilized sand, gravel,

brick shards, peanut covers, wood fiber etc.

can also be used.

First of all they are macro nutrients, such as

nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium,

magnesium and sulphur. Besides, there are

micro nutrients like boron, chloride, copper,

iron, manganese, sodium, zinc, molybdenum

and nickel. The amount of micro nutrients are

less, but essential. In the systems nutrients are

provided to the plants by dissolving in water

and are mostly in organic and ionic form.

Pr imary among the dissolved cations

(positively charged ions) are Ca +, Mg +, K+

and major nutrient anions in nutrient solution

are NCV, SC>42~and HbPCV. It depends on a

plant, how much nutrient it requires. On

different stages of growth, the amount of

nutrient also varies.

Advantages of the system

No soil is needed.

The cultivation takes up less space, get

more production.

Plants grow faster using this system, so

there is less time between transplanting

a seedling and the harvest.

The plants actually useoverall less water

than traditional growing methods.

Produce can receive nutrients till the

last moment, so they remain fresh.

This method is most suitable, where

traditional farming is impossible. In thedesertic areas, mountainous regions,

hydroponics can begrown forfreshcrops.

Hydroponic nutrients

In this culture, nutrients control is very

much required in theprocess of growing plants.

It is required to give everything that a fruit or

vegetable may want and no pesticides are

needed to protect them from various threats.

Moreover by supplying proper nutrients, a

farmer can grow fresh plants all the year

along.There are sixteen basic mineral nutrients

that all the plants require to grow well no

matter, if they are hydroponic or soil grown.

Fig. 2 : Homemade hydroponic garden

JUNE, 2012

27ScienceHorizon

For conducting research work for plant

growth, development of root systems,

that is completely visible, so the students

can see, how the whole plants grow.

Most plant diseases are from the soil.

Hydroponically grown plants are less

affected by diseases. Without applyingpoisonouspesticides, ifany pestsordisease

problems arise, can be controlled fairly.

The root environment is easily controlled

and manipulated for temperature,

darkness, humidity and nutrient mix.

Disadvantages of the system

Initial set up costs are high. This includesequipment, nutrient, houses, lighting etc.

Beginners to hydroponic farming will

undoubtedly suffer from losses. Sotrained persons must be engaged to grow

the crop.

Hydroponic plants are very sensitive to

any change in the environment. If there

is any deficiency, the plants will show it

almost immediately.

All the plants in the system are sharing

the same water and nutrient mix, if a

disease or pest infestation occurs, it

spreads quickly through the entire

growing system.

Weather and oxygen limitations maymake a difference in production and

harvest.

Conclusion

In order to meet the future food crisis

and to grow plants in problematic areas, this

type of technology can be adopted. In a small

scale, important plants of tomatoes, radishes,

lettuce, carnations, roses, cabbage etc. can be

raised. Before growing the plants, the grower

must know about the plant and the hydroponic

system. Plants do not grow well, unless all the

nutrients are available in reasonable amounts.

Properly grown hydroponic plantsare healthier

and more vigorous, because all the necessary

growth elements are readily available. The

plants can mature faster, yielding an earlier

harvest of vegetable and flower crops. The

biggest advantage of the hydroponic gardening

is the ability to automate the entire system

with a timer. Automation reduces the actual

time it takes to maintain plant growth

requireemnts.

References :

1. http://education.yahoo.com/hydroponics

2. wikipedia.org/Hydroponics

3. Greenhouse Managemen t fo r

Horticultural Crops by S. Prasad and U.

Kuma, Agrobios (India) Publication,

Jodhpur.

4. Google images on Hydroponics.

Associate Professor, Dept. of Agril. Structures,Civil & Environmental Engineering, CAET, OUAT,

Bhubaneswar-751003.

ScienceHorizon28

JUNE, 2012

Chemistry has undergone a sea of

changes century after century and many new

branches have emerged out of the three

traditional main branches namely - physical,

inorganic and organic. Even after the advent of

modern Nuclear chemistry, polymer chemistry

and medicinal chemistry, now a new but very

importantand heart throbbing branch has come

up and drawn the attention of the world

sc ient if ic communi ty espec ia ll y the

experimental chemists to a great extent. The

branch is designated as computational

chemistry. Sideby sidedata miningin chemistry

has also extended its wing and is providing a

lot of new concepts while generalization to

available data arecarried out through analytical

studies.

Computational Chemistry

It is a branch of chemistry that uses

computers to assist in solving chemical

problems. It uses the results of theoretical

chemistry incorpora ted in to effi cient

computer programs to calculate the structures

and properties of molecules and solids. While

it s re su lt s no rmal ly complemen t the

information obtained by chemical experiments

(both qualitative and quantitative), it can in

UNDERSTANDING COMPUTATIONALCHEMISTRYAND DATA MINING CHEMISTRY

S. M. Behera

some cases, predict unobserved chemical

phenomena and there by paving the ways to

design new drugs and materials.

Expected positions of the constituent

atoms in organic/ inorganic molecular

structure, absolutely & relative (interacting)

energies, electronic charge distributions,

dipole studies, vibrational frequencies,

reactivity or other spectroscopic quantities,

cross sections for collision with other particles

can be cited as examples under computational

chemistry.

If we look at the history, only in 1970,

two research workers namely, Sideny Fernbach

andAbraham Haskell Taub mentioned the term

computational chemistry in their book

"Computers and their role in the physical

sciences". They have also mentionedthat books

on quantum Mechanics quantum chemistry,

introduction to quantum mechanics with

applications to chemistry written by authors

like Linus pauling & E. Bright Wilson, Eyring,

Walter & Kimball, Coulson etc are regarded

as the pathfinders of computational chemistry.

With the development of efficient computer

technology in 1940s & the solutions of

elaborate wave equations for complex atomic

JUNE, 2012

29ScienceHorizon

systems regarded as the starting phase of the

said objective. In the early 1950s, the first

semi atomic orbital calculations were also

carried out. Theoretical chemist became

extensive users of the early digital computers

thereafter, Calculations on diatomic

molecules, poly atomic calculations were

also undertaken to develop the branch-

computational chemistry. It is worthwhile to

mention that in 1964. Huckel method

calculations (using a simple LCAO (Linear

combination of Atomic orbitals) method for

the determination of electron energies of

molecular orbita l of IT electrons in

conjuga ted hydrocarbon sys tems) of

molecules ranging in complexity from

butadiene to ovalene were generated in

computers at Berkeley & Oxford.

Realizing the role of computation it the

field of research in chemistry, computer

programs such as ATMOL, GAUSSIAN,

IBMOL& POLYAYTOM began to be used to

speed up computation of molecular orbitals.

Out of these four programs, now GAUSSIAN

is massively in use.

Thus Computational chemistry can be

cited as a tool to assist the experimental

chemists on the following major areas.

Storing& searchingfor data on chemical

entities.

Iden ti fy ing co rr el at ions between

chemical structures & properties.

Computational approaches to help in the

efficient synthesis of compounds.

Computational approaches to design

molecules that interact in specific ways

with other molecules (e.g. drug design.)

Data mining in chemistry

With the progressive specialization in

sc iences and the extensive use of

computational methods, the steady increase

of data is barely manageable even by a team of

scientists. Thereby the interest on a specific

information is pushed into the background

while global or superior information of

complete set of data is becoming more and

more important. Thus the recognition of

superior information for complete data set

becomes one of the most important tasks for

information measurement in science.

Therefore, the task of data mining in a

chemical context is to evaluate hidden

information in a set of chemical data. One of

the differences of data mining compared, to

conventional data base queries is the

production of new information that is used

to characterize chemical data in a more

general way.

At present data miningservice chemistry

has been divided into the following sections

ScienceHorizon30

JUNE, 2012

i. Search and processing of raw data.

(Relating to search for basic information

of atom and the bond to other atoms)

ii. Calculation of descriptors. Using the

three dimensional arrangement of atoms

in a molecule includ ing the

physiochemical prosperities of these

atoms, it is possible to calculate a

descriptor of the molecule. Here a

descriptor is defined as mathematical

vector of a. fixed length that is describing

a molecule including its properties.

iii. Analysis of statistical methods.

iv. Analysis by artificial networks (if

statistical methods fail)

v. Optimization by Genetic Algorithms

vi. Expert systems and

vii. Visualization of data and interactivity.

Conclusion

Critical overview on computational

chemistry and Data mining in chemistry are

two sides of a coin. One is enriched with the

other one. It is hoped with the availability of

more and more data through computer

network, computational chemistry will have

a solid footing in chemistry and will enrich

the traditional way of research by

computational analysis.Head, Department of Chemistry,

Trident Academy of Technology, BhubaneswarMobile : 09437696140

Memory researcher Scott Small of

Columbia University Medicalcentre reassures

that " as age goes up, memory goes down " but

not wits. Memory decline occurs in every

one. Most memory loss is normal. Some

people become part of the unlucky minority

that develops Alzheimer's disease or other

forms of dementia.Alzheimer's is expected to

strike 34 million people globally by 2025 and

14 million in the U.S. over the next 40 years.

Half of all people who reach age 85 will

exhibit symptoms of the disease. Since U.S.

life expectancy currently tops out at 80 for

women and 75 for men, by the time the 85th

birth day rolls around, you are not likely to be

troubled by Alzheimer's disease- or anything

else. Memory is supposed to operate in the

Hippocampus, a cashew shaped node of tissue,

sits deep in the temporal lobe of the brain. It

is the gatekeeper of sensory information

which subsequently moves to prefrontal

cortex, where it will be briefly held, called as

short-term memory.

The hippocampus begins to malfunction

early in Alzheimer's disease. Imaging studies

have shown that people with Alzheimer's

typically have a smaller than average

hippocampus. As the hippocampus shrinks,

MEMORY DECLINESAS AGEGOES UP, BUT NOT WITS

Dwijesh KumarPanda

JUNE, 2012

31ScienceHorizon

Neurology showed that people who were over

weight and had a large belly were 2-3 times as

likely to develop dementia as those with

normal weight and belly size. High blood

glucose is one of the main contributors to

age-related memory decline.

In older people, memory problems may

also be the result of poor diet, vitamin

deficiencies or glandular imbalances (all

reversible with treatment) rather than the

classic types of dementia associated with

age. Even if a physician ultimately diagnoses

Alzheimer's disease- which is done by

eliminating other possibilities rather than by

a direct test, because none is available other

than a brain biopsy. The mind-robbing disease

is still incurable, and the drugs that are

current ly avai lable only ease ce rtain

symptoms like anxiety, confusion and

insomnia. Alzheimer's is one of the hottest

area of scientific research. Scientists are

continually identifying genes that appear to

be involved in the growth of nerve cell killing

plaques in the brain. Even if the disease is not

curable, it may soon be more treatable than

ever. Our ability to recall experiences is one

of our most perishable powers. Why do we

remember so much- and forget so much ?

The gray hair has wise brains.

Senior Scientist, Filariologist, Pathologist and Microbiologist,M5/12, Acharya Vihar, Bhubaneswar

Contact No. 94384 70777

the pathway and the prefrontal cortex begins

to degrade as well. The hippocampus also

goes at least somewhat awry in normal

memory loss. It is relatively stable in volume

till about 60 years. As people get older, they

have problems paying attention - a function

controlled by the prefrontal cortex, which

starts to diminish in size well before middle

age. It also begins to use the brain's fuel,

glucose, less efficiently and loses about

half its concentration of the

neurotransmitter dopamine.

Researchers from an Institute in

Stockholmwho have been followingover 1500

people for more than 35 years found a

significantly lower rate of dementia, including

Alzheimer's, in those who exercise. Another

study, of 2000 elderly men living in Hawaii,

showed that those who walked two miles or

more a day were half as likely to develop

dementia as those who walked a quarter mile

or less. But physical activity is not all in

improving memory. There is also what we eat.

Blueberries zap free radicals ( highly reactive

atoms that can damage tissues ) reverse aging,

enhancecognition, cause new neurons to grow.

Similar benefits obtained fromwalnuts, which

contain alpha-linolenic acid, an essential

omega-3 fatty acids. To maintain a sharp

memory, one should strive for a diet that

keeps belly fat down. A study of more than

6,500 people published in the Journal

ScienceHorizon32

JUNE, 2012

Maize is used for various purposes such

as human food, animal feed, fodder, baby corn,

sweet corn, pop corn and production of

industrial items. Baby corn is the young cob

harvested just after emergence of white silk. It

is used for preparation of salad, soup, pakoda,

curry and many other dishes. Now-a-days,

baby corn is gaining popularity with increased

market demand especially among the urban

consumers. As there is growing demand of

baby corn in the urban areas, for which it is

sold at a higher price as compared to other

products of maize. Due to lack of awareness

among the farming

c o m m u n i t y

regarding the trade

poten ti al of the

product, there is

meager utilisation

of maize in the form

of baby corn.

The soiland climate of Odisha is suitable

for baby corn cultivation. Better quality babycorn is obtained when it is grown at

comparatively low temperature condition.

Hence, it can be grown well during winter

season throughout the state. The farmers ofinterior districts residing at higher altitudes

can grow this crop during pre-kharif and post-

rabi seasons also. This crop can be grown in

PRODUCTION OF BABY CORN FOR HIGHER PROFITSubasChandraSahoo

well drained loamy soil with high fertility. The

optimum pH range suitable for good crop

growth is 5.8 to 7.0.

Short duration varieties producing more

than one ear per plant are desirable for higher

yield of baby corn. There are several varietiesnamely VL-42, VL-78, Kiran etc., suitable for

baby corn production. As the plants are grown

at close spacing, the seed requirement is about25 kg/ha. To protect the crop from soil borne

diseases, the seeds can be treated with thiram

@ 3 gmor carbandazim @ 2gmper kgof seed.

The soil should be made well pulverised

by ploughing 3 to 4 times. During finalploughing, farm yard manure @ 5 ton/ha may

be applied in the soil. The seeds are sown at a

spacing of 40 cm x 20 cm to accommodate

nearly 1.25 lakh plants /ha. Before sowing theseeds, furrows are to be made by trench hoe or

bullock plough with a spacing of 40 cm from

line to line. The basal fertilizer @ 30 kg ofnitrogen, 60 kg phosphors and 60 kg

potassium/ha may be applied in the furrows.

The fertilizers have to be mixed thoroughlywith the soil. Then the seeds are put in the

furrow at a distance of 20 cm from seed to

seed. The furrows are covered thoroughly sothat the seeds are not exposed. Light irrigation

is provided for early germination of the seeds.

A day after sowing, the weedicideatrazin, may

Baby corn

JUNE, 2012

33ScienceHorizon

be applied @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha by mixing with

water. This helps in reducing the weed

population in the field. If necessary, gap filling

may be done at 10-12 days after sowing of the

seeds.

Nearly three weeks after sowing, hoeing

should be done in the field, followed byearthing up operation. At this time nitrogen

may be applied @ 60kg/ha. The balance dose

of nitrogen @ 30kg/ha may be applied at theinitiation of silk emergence. Depending on

soil moisture status, irrigation is provided at

regular intervals to maintain crop growth. Thetassels are removed after emergence, which

helps in diversion of nutrient flow towards

formation of more number of cobs. Tomaintain the quality of baby corn, detasseling

is an essential operation. It is doneby removing

the tassel of the plant as soon as it emergesfrom the flag leaf. It should be practiced row-

wise. While detasseling, leaf should not be

removed, since it affects photosynthesis andultimately reduces average baby corn yield.

The removed tassel should be fed to the cattle

as it is nutrient rich.

Time of harvest playsvital role in getting

better quality of baby corn. The crop is

harvested just after emergence of white silk. Ittakes nearly 45-50 days during kharif and 55-

60 during rabi season to get the first harvest.

If harvesting is delayed, the quality of babycorn is reduced and it fetches low price in the

market. Cobs are to be removed from the plant

without disturbing the leaves. Then those arebrought to shade for dehusking the cobs. If

dehusking is delayed, there will be loss of

quality of baby corn. Normally, harvesting isdone 2-3 times in a week. After harvesting of

baby corn, green plants are used as fodder for

cattle. With proper package of practices, theyield is roughly 10-12 quintals of baby corn

and about 220 quintals of green fodder per

hectare. For continuous supply to the market,it is necessary to sow the seeds in staggered

manner. It means a big plot is to be divided

into small plots and sowing should be doneonce in a week to get continuous harvest. This

is a profitable crop with good market potential.

So the farmers may come forward for babycorn cultivation to earn higher profit.

Deputy Director, Directorate of Extension Education

OUAT, Bhubaneswar - 751 003E-mail : akaskanya@gmail.comBaby Corn Harvesting

ScienceHorizon34

JUNE, 2012

Whether it is smell of jasmine, rose orlavender or the flavor of lemon, tulsi or mint- we recognize them instantly. Theiridentification is attributed to synergisticpresence of unique chemical compounds(metabo li te s) in addi tion to othe rmacromolecules inside the plant tissues.Biological systems contain such complexmetabolites and the fragrances/flavors consistof bouquets of volatiles, whose compositionandlevels determine thefragrance of individualplant. Typically, fragrances consist ofterpenoids, fatty acid derivatives, indolecompounds and benzenoids - mostly thesecondary metabolites of plants. Presence ofthese unique metabolites along with proteins,carbohydrates and other metabolites makesfundamental contributions to the remarkablediversity in plants beyond genetic diversity.

The study of metabolites of plants iscritical in biology as they govern cellularfunction of different organs and individualorgans are rich in diverse metaboliccompounds. Moreover, within a plant speciessubstantialquantitativeandqualitative variationexists in metabolite composition. At a givenpoint of time quantity and quality ofmetabolites determine the plasticity of plantsto environment. Study of complete set ofcellular metabolites including metabolic

METABOLOMICS -STUDYINGCHEMICALVOCABULARY OF PLANTS

Prasanta K Dash, Kishor Gaikwad, Pradeep K Jain and Rhitu Rai

intermediates, hormones and secondarymetabolites gives an instantaneous snapshotof the physiology of the organism. Thus, thefocus of biological research is shifting frompure, high-throughput sequencing techniquesto deriving gene function by analyzing widespectrum of metabolites to understand themolecular interplay at metabolic levels thatultimately govern morphology of plants.

It has been estimated that plants containover 100,000 metabolites with each specieshaving its own chemotypic expression pattern.The systematic study of the metabolites ofany organism is known as "Metabolomics". Itis a powerful tool for studying changes ingene expression and the resulting metabolicand phenotypic effects over the course ofdevelopment or in response to environmentalor chemical stresses and helps us to examineoverall biological impact of changes toindividual organism.

Although, the concept of "metabolomics"was introduced in late 1940s by RogerWilliams, the use of metabolomics in practicehas been ancient. Chinese doctors used ants todetect whether urine contained high doses ofglucose and detect diabetes among patients.Medieval ages marked use of "urine charts" todiagnose various medical conditions, which

are of metabolic origin. With advent of new

JUNE, 2012

35ScienceHorizon

biological era, revolution in research made it

possible to move from study of chromosomesto studies that encompass entire genomes,

transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes(Fig. 1). Recently, various metabolomic

research areas have used differingterminology for the definition of metabolic

approaches (Table 1). However, the core ofmetabolomic research involves detection,

identification and quantification of allmetabolites within a sample.

Central to metabolomic study is precisedetection and measurement of metabolites.

Since it deals with diverse range of chemicalcompounds with la rge vari at ions in

concentrations, comprehensive coverage isachieved by usingmultiparallelcomplementary

detection technologies. Current advances inlaboratory automation and informationtechnologies allow conducting analysesquickly and superimposing the various layersof information to yield complex, yet coherent,snapshots of the inner workings of metabolitesin a biological system.

The important techniques suitable forplant metabolomics are gas chromatography(GC)/liquid chromatography (LC) coupledmass spect rometry (MS), capi ll aryelectrophoresis (CE)-MSand nuclear magneticresonance (NMR).

1. Among all, GC-MS technique has beenone of the most popular metabolomicsapproaches because it is able to determine thelevels of primary metabolites such as amino

Fig.1. Transitional biology depicting translational biology

ScienceHorizon36

JUNE, 2012

acids, organic acids, and sugars by employinga chemical derivatization of these hydrophilicmetabolites. In addition to this, goodreproducibility of GC-MS analyses in termsof sharp separation of metabolites by GCcombined with the stable ionization achievedby electron impact (EI) ionization is preferablefor analyzing complex plant extracts. Large-scale analysis of more than one thousandsamples in a day is possible in GC-MSprotocols for high throughput analysis.Although the GC-MS method has variousapplications in plant metabolomics studies,accurate determination of metabolite levels

by this technique plays a critical role in

decoding regulation networks of plant's

primary metabolism.

2. The metabolome analysis using LC-MS

is a unique method for the profiling of plant

secondary metabolites such as phenyl-

propanoids and alkaloids. In fact, modification

of the LC separation employing different

column chemistry and mobile phase enables

analysis of membrane lipids (lipidomics) as

wellas amino acids. One of the most important

applications of LC-MS in metabolomics is to

understand phytochemical diversity in plants.

Term DefinitionMetabolitea Any substance necessary for metabolism or taking part in a particular

metabolic process either as a substrate or generated as a result of endproduct of metabolism is known as metabolite. Examples of suchmetabolites are glucose in the metabolism of sugars and starches; aminoacids in the biosynthesis of proteins; and squalene in the biosynthesis ofcholesterol; hormones; terpenoids; indole and benzoid compounds etc.

Metabolomics Identification and quantification of all metabolites within an organism orsystem, under a given set of conditions, primarily concerned with normalendogenous metabolism.

Metabonomics Identification and quantification of metabolites that are dynamicallyaltered by a living system in response to different stimuli or geneticmodification. It extends metabolic profiling to include information aboutperturbations of metabolism caused by environmental factors includingdiet, toxins, xenobiotics and the involvement of extragenomics influencessuch as pathogens.

Metabolicprofiling

Identification and quantification of metabolites related through theirmetabolic pathway(s) or similarities in their chemistry.

Metabolitefingerprinting

Rapid and high-throughput metabolite profiles of simple cellular extractswithout involving quantification or identification of metabolites.

Metabolome The repertoire of all biochemical complement present within an organism.Metabolite foot-printing

A commonly employed microbial metabolomics approach that measuresmetabolites secreted from the intracellular complement of an organisminto its extracellular growth medium.

Targetedmetabolite analysis

In-depth biochemical profiling of pre-defined groups of metabolites basedon existing knowledge or on broad-spectrum metabolomic analysis.

Table 1. Various terms commonly used in metabolomics and their meanings.

JUNE, 2012

37ScienceHorizon

3. Capillary electrophoresis (CE)-MSmethod in metabolomics offers an advantageof detection of ionic metabolites such assugar-phosphates and nucleotides in additionto amino acids and organic acids. It has beenreported that more than 200 metabolite signalscan be determined in Arabidopsis by thisanalysis in which up to 70-100 metaboliteswere structurally identifiable.

4. NMR offers excellent quantitativeprecision of metabolites and the potential forhigh throughput of >100 samples/day is alsoattainable. In addition, NMR is particularlypowerful for metabol it e st ructuredetermination, including the atomic positionsof isotopic labels in different isotopomersgenerated by stable isotope tracer studies. Asa result, metabolic pathways can now besystematically mapped by NMR withunprecedented precision and speed.

Application to crop biology

The nutritional quality of crop plants is adirect function of metabolite content. It istherefore important to use metabolomicapproach to understand better what especiallyhas occurred during crop domestication inorder to design new concepts for more targetedcrop improvement. The potential for cropimprovement is enormous as has recently beendemonstrated in studies on geneticalmetabolomics (linking metabolic profiles withgenomic information). The extensively newchemical signatures, resulting from differentin tr a- spec if ic all el ic combina tions

(transgressive segregation), reveal the potentialofmetabolomicstodetecttransgressive segregantsbefore a trait is expressed. This 'hiddenbiochemical variation, now revealed to plantbreeders through metabolomics', will open thedoortothe biochemicalway ofcropimprovementand fine tuning of breeding for nutritionaltraits in crop species' related to macro- andmicro-nutrition aspects of food quality.

Conclusion

Metabolomics, the study of the completerepertoire of small molecules in cells, tissues,organs, and biological fluids, represents amajor and rapidly evolving component of newbiology. The development of a series ofanalytical platforms such as NMR, GC-MS,LC-MS, and LCECA,all capable of accuratelymeasuring hundreds or thousands of smallmolecules in biological samples, promises tosubstantially advance our understanding of howplants response to a variety of stress conditions.Currently, a few areas of biomedical researchstand to benefit more from the application ofmetabolomics than plant science. However, infuture we envision more studies that includemetabolomics as an integral part of the systemsbiology approach to study combination ofproteomics, transcriptomics and modeling toprovide scientists a holistic view and enablethem to develop strategies to enhance thetolerance of different plants and crops to bioticand abiotic stresses.

National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, IARI,

PUSA Campus, New Delhi- 110012e-mail:prasanta01@yahoo.com, jainpmb@gmail.com,

kish2012@yahoo.com, rhitunrcpb@yahoo.com

ScienceHorizon38

JUNE, 2012

Introduction

"Drink your milk.You need the calcium

for healthy bone and teeth."- used to be acommon advice of all mothers, when we were

young. Calcium helps in building strong bonesand healthy teeth.As one of the most abundant

minerals in human body, calciumaccounts for

nearly 1.5% of the total body weight. Whilebones and teeth house 99% of the calcium in

the body, the remaining 1% is distributed inother areas. Calcium is the top macro nutrient,

when it comes to our bones. It is a primarystructural constituent of the skeleton, but it is

also widely distributed in soft tissues where it

is involved in neuromuscular, enzymatic,hormonal and other metabolic activities.

Macro-nutrient

Calcium is one of the most importantmacro-nutrients necessary for body's growth

and function. It is known for its role in

maintaining the strength and density of thebones.. Calcium and phosphorous combine to

formcalciumphosphate. The process is known

as bone mineralization. Calcium phosphate isa prime component of the mineral complex

(called hydroxyapatite), which gives structureand strength to bones. In addition to building

strong bones and healthy teeth, calcium is alsoused in muscle contraction, blood clotting and

maintenance of cell membranes. Calcium has

CALCIUM - THE ESSENTIAL HEALTH NUTRIENTG. K. Roy

been found to assist in the production oflymphatic fluids. A part of it is utilized tosupport nerve transmiss ion, musclecontraction (including normal heart rhythm),blood clotting and regulation of hormone and

enzyme activities. Additionally, this mineralassists in the supply of essential nutrients andother substances across cell membranes.

Calcium absorption depends on thecalcium need of the body and the calciumcontent of the food consumed. The absorptionis enhanced by vitamin-D from the diet orexposure to the ultraviolet light of the sun.

With age, the rate of absorption tends todecrease for both men and women. Majorportion of the body calcium (greater than99%) is stored in the bones and teeth tosupport their structure, while the remaining

small amount is found throughout the body inblood, muscle and the fluid between the cells.In view of its biological importance indischarging many physiological activities, thebody utilizes complex regulatory systems to

precisely control the amount of calcium in theblood, so that it is available for these activities.Inconsequence, when dietary intake of calciumis quite low to maintain normal levels ofcalcium in the blood, the body will draw on

calcium stores in the bones to maintain normalblood concentrations, otherwise, after many

years can lead to osteoporosis.

JUNE, 2012

39ScienceHorizon

Calcium as health protector:

Lowering blood pressure: Calcium

seems to help prevent high blood pressure. A

13-year survey conducted by the U.S. National

Centre for Health Statistics revealed that

people consuming 1300 mg of calcium per

day were 12% less likely to develop

hypertension than those consuming only

300mg a day. In people, under the age of 40,

this risk was reduced by up to 25%. Further

studies suggest that in some people an increase

in calciumconsumptioncan helpcontrol blood

pressure without medication.

Preventing heart disease:

Studies show that, calcium may help

lower blood cholesterol and shield the heart

from any harm. A university of Texas study

indicated that an increase of daily calcium

intake from 410mg to 2200mg resulted in the

decrease of total cholesterol by 6% and bad

cholesterol (LDL) by 11% while maintaining

the good cholesterol (HDL)unchanged. Hence,

with an increase in calcium intake, whether

with diet or as supplement, the cholesterol

gets better.

Avoiding kidney stones:

Doctors advise patients suffering from

kidney stones to limit calcium intake, as

calcium is the major component of 80% of all

stones. But a Harvard School of Public Health

study on 45510 men with no kidney stones for

four years indicated that, those on high calcium

diet (average 1326mg per day) were found to

cut their risk of developing stones by one-

third to men with daily intake of 516mg.

However, in view of the two above conflicting

factors, the kidney stone patients should

consult their physicians before changing their

dietary habits.

Fighting osteoporosis:

With gradual thinning and weakening of

bones, osteoporosis affects millions amongst

us especially the women. In theadvanced stage

of the disease, fragility increases with greater

risk of fractures, especially crippling fractures

of the hip. Several studies indicate that the

increase of calcium intake is vital to slow

down the loss andreduce fracture rates brought

on by osteoporosis. This is particularly

significant when calcium is taken with vitamin-

D which increases the capacity of the body to

absorb the mineral.Accordingto many experts,

the time to start increasing the calcium intake

is adolescence when the adult bone mass is

being formed.

Calcium deficiency symptoms:

Insufficient calcium intake,poor calcium

absorption and excessive calcium loss in the

urine andfaeces can lead to calcium deficiency.

In children , calcium deficiency can cause

improper bone mineralization which leads to

rickets. Because bone stores of calcium can

be used to maintain a proper blood calcium

ScienceHorizon40

JUNE, 2012

level ,short term dietary deficiency of calcium

generally does not result in significantly low

blood calcium levels. But over the years,

dietary deficiency eventually depletes bone

stores, rendering the bones weak and prone to

fracture . Some symptoms of calc ium

deficiency are-

(i) Delay in sittingup, crawlingand walking

of babies

(ii) Knock-knees in children

(iii) Cramp pains in legs

(iv) Irregular heart beats

(v) Sleep disorder

(vi) Weakness in bones

Calcium sources and RecommendedDaily Intake (RDI):

Some important food sources, rich in

calcium are given below:

Food Quantity Calcium(mg)

Goat milk one cup(240ml) 325

Cow milk -do- 288

Yoghurt 200gm. 298

( from cow's milk)

Kulfi 100gm 525

(from buffalo's milk)

Dry coconut -do- 400

Dry dates -do- 120

Cheese one ounce 220

Spinach one cup 245

(cooked)

Other sources of calcium include leafy

green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli,

cabbage, calcium-fortified foods from

orange juice to cereals and crackers, ice

creams, oysters, small fish with bones, nuts

and fresh fruits.

Calcium is sometimes lost in cooking

some foods. To retain calcium, foods are to be

cooked in a minimal amount of water for the

shortest possible time.

Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of

calciumfor different age groups, with category

are as under:

Category Age Calcium

requirement

(mg.)

Infants 0- 6 months 210

-do- 7-12 months 270

Children 1-3 years 500

Children 4-8 years 800

Adults (males 9-18 years 1300

and females)

-do- 19-50 years 1000

-do- 51 and above 1200

Pregnant and less than 1300

lactating 18 years

-do- 19-30 years 1000

-do- 31-50 years 1000

JUNE, 2012

41ScienceHorizon

Calcium absorption may be reduced in

vegetarians as they eat more plant foods

containing oxalic and phytic acids, compounds

which interfere with calcium absorption.

However, vegetarian diet, containing less

protein may reduce calcium excretion. Still

then vegetarians may be at increased risk for

inadequate intake of calcium, which is to be

avoided by takingproper calcium-rich diet and

also supplements if required.

Calcium supplements may also be

necessary for pregnant women, nursing

mothers, children andadolescents, menopausal

women (to avoid the risk of osteoporosis)

specifically when their normal daily diet fails

to meet the RDI.

Conclusion:

Calcium which was considered as an

important nutrient for the development and

maintenance of healthy bones and teeth, a few

decades back, is being accepted now as a

possible player in the fight against many

ailments. Getting enough of this" miracle

mineral" in our daily diet may require a little

effort. If we consider the pay off-good health

it's worth it.

Plot No. 451/1766, Nuasahi, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar.E.mail: gkroyster@gmail.com.

'Tissue Culture' is a general terms that

encompasses and is concerned with the study

of not only tissues but also cells, protoplasts

and organs maintained or grown in- vitro.

Tissue culture techniques should more

accurately be termed as IN-VITRO techniques

(literally means in a glass) because the cultures

are normally contained within glass or clear

plastic vessels. Although in vitro-culture is

relatively a new branch of biological science,

it is based on the concept of "Totipotency of

livingcells", a theory given byGerman Botanist

Dr. G. Haberlandt (1902). Totipotency may be

defined as 'interest capacity of a living cell to

divide, develop and differentiate into the total

range of cell types foundin the adult organism.

A diploid Zygote formed as a consequence of

fertilization from all types of cells in the body

of a zygote or its daughter cells express, such

expression is progressively restricted at the

later stage of tissue and cell-differentiation. It

has been demonstrated that differentiated cells

are capable of acting condition. They are then

said to have demonstrated totipotency.

Haberlandt failed in his experimental work

PLANT TISSUECULTURE AND ITS

APPLICATIONSanjeeb kumar Das and Padmini Bisyoi

ScienceHorizon42

JUNE, 2012

and could not prove his concept of totipotency.

It was so, mainly because his ideas were for

ahead of the technology I know how available

at that time.

However, later during the 1930 the

subject was put on a scientific footing through

the work of R.J. Gautheret (France) and P.R.

White (USA). In the following years, plant

tissue culture techniques have undergone

tremendous refinement and plants belonging

to virtually all families and groups have been

successfully put to tissue culture

experiments.

Today in-vitro technique is considered

to be one of the front-line tools for

undertaking research in genetic engineering.

Types of in-vitro culture :

As has already been pointed out, the

term tissue-culture or in-vitro culture is a

general term. Plant tissue culture recognizes

three main branches.

1. Cell Culture : It refers to growing cells

in-vitro including the culture of single

cells. In cell culture, the cells are

no-longer organized into tissues.

2. Tissue culture : The maintenance or

growth of tissues in-vitro in a way that

mayallow differentiation and preservation

of their architecture and /or function.

3. Organ culture : The maintenance or

growth of organ primordial or the whole

or parts of an organ in vitro that may

allow differentiation and preservation.

Application :

It has many applications in crop

improvement, preservation, breeding and in

industries.

1) Micro-propagation :

Micro -p ropagati on is the rapid

production of a larger no. of identical clones

in-vitro within a short duration. It restores

original genetic make up of parents plant in

the clones. So it is used to breed crop plants

in large numbers.

Micro propagation is practiced in

i. Plants in which seed production is

difficult or impossible.

ii. Plants which fail to produce seed.

iii. Plants in which frequent variations take

place due to cross pollination.

JUNE, 2012

43ScienceHorizon

produced from another culture, pollen

cultures and ovule cultures. The haploids are

used in plant breeding in order to improve

the field and agricultural crops. Nearly 250

haploid species are established through

another culture method.

5) Embryo Rescue :

In some plants, normal fertilization takes

place but the ovule fails to become a seed. In

such cases, the immature embryo is taken

from the immature fruits and cultured in a

tissue culture medium. Subsequently, plants

develop from the embryo. As this method

overcomes embryo immaturity, it is known as

Embryo rescue. It has tremendous application

in plant breeding.

6) Synthetic seeds :

Now-a-days, biotechnologists are

working on the possibilities of producing

artificial or synthetic seeds from somatic

embryos of important agricultural and forest

plants. In synthetic seeds a somatic embryo is

generally encapsulated in some nutrient gel

which acts as the endosperm for the somatic

embryo. These synthetic seeds can be stored

and transported easily and can be sown in the

field beds directly.

Department of Botany( DESM) R.I.E (NCERT), Unit-9Achrayavihar, Bhubaneswar-751022

2) Organogenesi s, adventi tious

regeneration :

Organogenesi s is a process of

differentiation by which plant organs are

formed de novo. Similarly "regeneration" in

vitro is a morphogenetic response to a stimulus

that results in the production of organs,

embryos or whole plant.

Organogenesis and regeneration in-vitro

have many facets of interest for scientists of

both basic and applied areas of plant science.

Impr ovement of cro p pla nt s thr ou gh

manipulations at the cellular level is possible

only if somatic cells are able to give rise to

whole plants, a plant breeder is obviously

interested to obtain modified plants rather

than modified cells.

3) Somaclonal variation :

Generally clones produced through

tissue culture show uniformity in their

character. However, a few clones show

variation among the clones. They are called

somatic variants. The formation of variant

clones from the cultured callus tissue is

called somaclonal variation.

4) Production of Haploids :

The haploid plants contain only a single

set of chromosomes in their cells. They are

ScienceHorizon44

JUNE, 2012

In many countries of Asia, Africa andLatinAmerica, vitaminA deficiency (VAD) isa matter of concern. VAD causes irreversibleblindness in more than 5 lakh childrenannually and results in large scale deaths.Particularly, in South- East Asia, nearly 5million children annually show the symptomsof VAD. It has also been estimated thatvitaminAnutrition may prevent approximately1 to 2 million deaths every year amongchildren aged 1 to 4 years and an additional0.25 to 0.5 in the higher age group of children.In many of the above cited regions, in generaland in the poor farming families of the southAsia, in particular, rice is their staple food.According to the American DieticAssociation,Vitamin Ais essential for healthyvision and glowing skin.

Inview of the above, the biotechnologistshave developed transgenic crops like rice andmustard described as 'golden rice' and 'goldenmustard' respectively. The term golden refersto the golden colour of the endosperm of ricegrain or the mustard oil due to richness ofprovitamin A or beta carotenes.

Transgenic of golden rice:

It is well known that the process ofreproduction occurs among a particularspecies of organisms. As an example, it may

be cited that pollination and fertilization are

VITAMIN A RICH - GOLDEN RICE- A GIFT OFBIOTECHNOLOGY

BasantaKumarChoudhury

only feasible between two mango plants but

notbetween a mango andthe species of banyanplant. The reason is that the mango and banyan

belong to different species. On the other hand,in transgenic, the process of reproduction can

take place beyond the species boundary.Transgenic technology refers to isolation of

genes, modification of such isolated speciesso that they can function better, preservation

of those genes to be modified into new speciesand thereafter, formation of the 'transgenic'.

Extensive researches during 1996 -2000by Ingo Potrykus in Switzerland and Peter

Beyer, in Germany, led to the development ofthe transgenic 'golden rice'. The grains of the

plant contain beta carotene and carotenoidsthe precursors of the vitamin A.The transgenic

golden rice was developed by putting 2 genesfrom Narc is sus (Daf fodi ls ) such as

psy(phytoene synthase and lcy (lycopenebeta cyclase) and 1 gene crtl (phytoene

desaturase) from one species of the bacterium,Erwinia into the rice seeds. Since the new

plants contained genes from a plant far apartfrom rice plant and a bacterium which is not

visible to our naked eye, the new plant producedenriched vitamin A. Thus, it is a transgenic.

When the new crops were harvested, theirgrains were not white but pale yellow due to

predominance of beta carotene.

JUNE, 2012

45ScienceHorizon

Potential:

The biotech company, Zeneca, has taken

the responsibility to market the product under

the name 'Golden rice'. The introduction of

this rice into the poor farming areas has

potential to benefit millions of lives. If the

golden rice is duly accepted by the vulnerable

sections of the third world, it undoubtedly hastremendous potential of vitaminA in the diets

that lack this essential component. Many

ethicists, the Church of England and even the

Vatican have approved this genetically

modified food that provides better nutrition.

In 2001, a sample of golden rice wasprovided to the International Rice Research

Institute, Philippines to investigate its safety

and utility. After obtaining favourable

recommendation in three years time the golden

rice was released to be grown in the rice fields.

Concerns:

Since the transgenic technology involves

creation of new life beyond species boundary,

there is always an apprehension of its long

term effect on human health and environment.

Again, this transgenic crop of rice is a staple

food of overwhelming majority of the world;

it is natural that many ethicists and moralistsexpress concerns about its long term usage.

These people call it a dangerous

'Frankenfood' as nobody knows the long range

effect of genes manipulated from Daffodils

and a bacterium.

It has been argued that golden rice and

other transgenic crops will replace the

traditional varieties in the developingcountries

reducing their biodiversity. Once biodiversity

of a species is lost means it will create a

peculiar situation where any minor change in

the environment will lead to the elimination

of that species or drastic loss in its

productivity. One can imagine this condition

where loss in rice production or complete

disappearance of rice plant. It will definitely

lead to catastrophe or catastrophe like

situation.

The supporters of this technology argue

that the transgenic technology allows only the

desirable genes to be transferred to another

plant so as to create crops that can be more

affordable, more nutritious and have longer

lasting property against the process of decay

and disintegration. Hence, many peoplebelieve

that the genetically modified crops like golden

rice will have far reaching consequences. If

this can be accepted by people in the countries

that rely on rice as their principal diet, it could

make huge inroads in addressing vitamin A

deficiency. It should here be acknowledged

that human nature makes people skeptical to

any new product, especially when introduced

by foreigners.Sidhi, 24/732, Shree Vihar, Patia,

Bubaneswar- 751 024Email: - choudhrybasanta @yahoo.com.

ScienceHorizon46

JUNE, 2012

Q. What is an ulcer ?

The term ulcer is derived from the LatinWord 'ulcus'. Ulcer in Odia is known as 'gha'.

It is an open sore on an external orinternal surface of the body. Hence, it mayappear on skin surface or on the surface ofmucous membrane like that of lining of theoral cavity or of stomach and intestines. Thedischarge from the ulcers may be watery ormay even be blood stained. Pus may exude ifthe wound in infected by microorganisms.

Remember that ulcer is a local effectand it looks like a very shallow excavation inthe surface of an organ or tissue. Some of theulcers may be deep too.

Q. How is an ulcer formed ?

To start with, there occurs inflammation.The inflammationdevelops as a result of attackby microorganisms, by physical agents likeintense heat or cold, radiation, trauma or byvarious chemical agents like acids, alkalis etc.

The ulcers may occur due to obstruction inblood flow.

The inflammatory process leads todestruction and death of tissue cells.Interference with blood supply is the cause ofcell death. These dead cells subsequentlybecome loosened and finally drop off from

5W'S + H :(Why, Who, What, When, Where and How)

ULCERNityananda Swain

Stomach, or peptic, ulcers are caused by abreakdown of the mucous lining of thestomach or overproduction of stomachsecretions.

Duodenal ulcers are the most common type,occurring when acid secreted by thestomach erodes the lining of the duodenum.

JUNE, 2012

47ScienceHorizon

the affected site resulting in a break in thecontinuity of skin or mucous membrance,leaving behind an ulcer.

Q. Where do ulcers occur ?

The ulcers may occur on any part of theskin. But the extremities, especially the lowerones, are the most common sites. They arealso commonly encountered in the mucosa ofthe mouth, stomach, duodenum, intestines orgenitourinary tract.

Ulcers associated with inflammationsare usually painful, but trophic ulcers arepainless.

The trophic ulcers develop when there isimpairment of blood supply to the tissues.Impairment of blood supply cuts off supply ofnutrition to the affected site. Furthermore, ifthe nerve supply to the particular part is notproper, it may lead to injury and ulcerformation. Trophic ulcers are quite commonlyfound in patients with diabetes mellitus andleprosy.

Q. How do the doctors diagnose thedisease by observing the ulcer ?

As you know, the ulcer s ar ecircumscribed lesions developed due to lossof tissues. The observation to the edge of theulcers give valuable clues to the diagnosis aswell as the condition of the ulcers.

If the edge or the ulcer is inflamed andthere is swelling, it indicates a spreading ulcer.On the otherhand, in a healing ulcer, its centreis reddish and the edge purplish-white.

UNDERMINEDEDGE(INTUBERCULOSIS)

PUNCHEDOUT EDGE(IN SYPHILIS, TROPHICULCER)

SLOPINGEDGE(HEALINGULCER)

RAISEDEDGE(RODENT ULCER- A TYPEOF CANCERULCER)

ROLLED-OUT OREVERTEDEDGE

(IN EPITHELIOMA-ATYPE OF CANCER)

ScienceHorizon48

JUNE, 2012

The description of the edge of the ulcer and the disease commonly associated with each

type are as follows :

Diagram Description of edge Associated diseaseA Undermined edge TuberculosisB Punched-out edge Syphilis, Trophic ulcerC Sloping edge Healing ulcerD Raised and pearly-white edge Rodent ulcer (a type of cancer unlcer)

E Rolled-out (everted) edge Epithelioma (a type of cancer)

The endoscopic tests may help in the

diagnosis of ulcers especially in stomach andintestine.

Bariummeal and X' Ray is helpful in the

diagnosis of ulcers in stomach and duodenum.

However, if one suspects a cancer-ulcer,the microscopic examination of the tissue

cells (called biopsy) collected from the ulcer-site confirms the diagnosis or rules it out.

Q. How do ulcers heal ?

Many ulcers heal spontaneously. Healingis a repair process. The repair process involves

regeneration. Regeneration is the replacementof injured tissue by newly formed cells of the

some type. For example, an ulcer in skin ishealed by cells of the skin and a stomach ulcer

by the cells of the stomach. Besides, therealso occurs replacement by collagen fibres.

However, in most instances, both theregeneration and replacement processes

contribute to repair. The fibrous tissue formedin the process of repair gradually contracts to

form a scar. In deep ulcers, there may be lefta permanent scar which is often accepted as an

identification mark. The healing of ulcers maytake days, weeks, or even months.

Q. How are they treated ?

Depending on the type and location ofthe ulcer, doctors plan out the mode of

treatment.For example, a stomach or duodenalulcer is treated by drugs that neutralize acid or

inhibit acid secretion in the stomach. It mayeven require surgical intervention.

On the otherhand, most of the ulcers on

the skin are treated by systemic administrationof antibiotic drugs and dressing with saline

and antiseptic lotions. Antibiotic cream orpowder may be used externally on the ulcer

surface.

There are also situations when skingrafting may be required. Ulcers developed

due to extensive burn injury often require skingrafts. Foot ulcers in diabetic patients may

necessitate even amputation.

ABHIPSA, Sector - 6, Plot No. - 1131, Abhinab Bidanasi,Cuttack - 753 014

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