Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignant disease caused by the abnormal growth and development of early non-granular white blood cells, or lymphoblasts. ALL occurs predominantly in children, peaking at 4 years of age. Interferons (IFNs) are the biological agents involved in the antiviral responses and the inhibition of tumor growth. In oncology, the IFNs are an important treatment options for a number of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. The IFN- 1gene consists of 840 bp and it lacks intron sequences. Seventy patients suffering from Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia were studied and analyzed for mutation analysis of IFN- 1. So, 58.3% of the patients suffering from ALL were observed and compared with 41.7% normal DNA samples as control. PCR was performed and amplified gene products were detected on agarose gel and PAGE. Finally, SSCP was performed and mobility shift was observed in 7 out of 70 ALL samples. We observed that ALL disease typically develops in children ages 1-10 years old and is more prevalent in males than females. Mutation in the IFN- 1 gene was significantly related to 1-5 years in case of association of mutation with age.

Synthetic insecticides has long been involved in causing fetal diseases to human beings as well as cattle. Importance of biological control of insect pests is aan environment friendly approach. With advances in biotechnology, recombinant bacteria and other organisms are being developed for better control of insect pests. Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) holds a central place among biocontrol agents. BT produces parasporal crystal proteins (Cry toxin) during sporulation phase of its growth. These toxins have defined spectra of toxicity to the target insects only, without doing any harm to friend insects. More than 260 Cry toxins have been reported so far. Of which Cry2 is toxic to lepidopteran as well as dipteran insects. When enters the insect midgut, the toxin gets activated by proteases present in the insect midgut, make holes in the gut, as a result insect loses homeostasis and eventually die without feeding.

Transition metals affect the viability of organisms and are fundamental and limiting factors at the same time, since they represent nutritionally important yet cytotoxic components in our environment. Both prokaryotes and eukaryotes carry cellular systems to maintain the metal homeostasis.Metallothioneins (MTs) are 6-7 kDa, ubiquitous, cytoplasmic, cysteine rich proteins, which have the capacity of high affinity binding to heavy metal ions. MTs play key role in essential as well as toxic heavy metal metabolism in the organisms. The ciliates tolerate elevated concentrations of metals, which are accumulated, bound to MTs peculiar to these organisms. The MT genes of Tetrahymena tropicalis lahorensis subsp. nov. and Euplotes muscicola SBSrc subsp. nov., tolerating about 500 uM copper in the medium have been described. Gene of copper MT in T. t. lahorensis was amplified using genomic DNA as well as cDNA as template. The cDNA coding for the two isoforms was cloned and sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of one isoform consists of 300, while that of the other has 327 nucleotides. This study provides detailed information about the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of both these isoforms."

The enteric pathogens isolated from diarrhoeal patients admitted to different hospitals of Azad Jammu & Kashmir were analyzed for antibiotic resistance and correlated with genetic elements in the bacteria.Salmonella spp. was the most frequently detected (35.8 %) enteropathogen followed by Escherichia coli (34.3 %), Shigella spp.(25.8 %) and Campylobacter spp. (4.1 %). The isolates of Shigella spp. showed highest resistance against penicillin, E. coli and Campylobacter spp. against carbenicillin, and Salmonella spp. were highly resistant to ampicillin.The most common pattern of antibiotic resistance was penicillin, carbenicillin and ampicillin in Shigella spp.; carbenicillin, ampicillin and ceftizoxime in E. coli;ampicillin, carbenicillin and streptomycin in Salmonella spp.; and carbenicillin, ampicillin and co-trimoxazole in Campylobacter spp. The drug resistant bacteria were analyzed for the presence of plasmid DNA. Since the plasmid DNA is implicated for drug resistant gene(s), curing bacteria of plasmid abolished drug resistance, whereas transformation of plasmid-less bacteria with the plasmids isolated from drug resistant bacteria made the transformants drug resistant.

Synthetic insecticides have been effectively used during past several decades to control variety of insects and crop pests. The use of chemical insecticides has been greatly impeded due to development of physiological resistance in the vectors, environmental pollution and harmful effects on beneficial non-target animals. Therefore, the need of alternate, more effective and environment-friendly control agents became imperative.In this study, out of twenty two B.t isolates from the soil, six were found significantly toxic to 3rd instar larvae of Anopheles stephensi. One isolate SBS B.t 45, which was found to be most toxic, harbored all Cry4 proteins viz., Cry4A, Cry4B, Cry4C and Cry4D. The recombinant purified Cry4A and Cry4B proteins of this isolate were 3660, 500, 1160, and 2 folds for Cry4A, and 2555, 349, 1005 and 2 folds for Cry4B, more toxic to mosquito larvae when compared with their respective spores, total B.t. cell proteins, organisms transformed with cry4 genes, and isolated recombinant crude proteins of organisms transformed with cry4 genes, respectively. These isolates have strong potential to develop into a biopesticidal formulation for control of mosquitoes

Cancer is an un-control growth of cells. Cancer cells grow in an abnormal fashion, crowd out the normal cells. Liver is the largest organ inside the body; hepatocellular carcinoma is a cancer arising from liver. Laryngeal cancer affects the larynx, which is often called voice box, common in males. Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the world, leading cause of death from cancer in men. Multiple gene mutations are involved in cancer pathology. Type I interferons (IFN, IFN, IFN ) are the proteins involved in cell signaling and growth. This study was conducted to determine whether mutation in IFN 1 plays a significant role in liver, larynx and lung cancer. Paraffin embedded tissues of liver, larynx and lung were used for DNA isolation. SSCP technique was used to detect mutation. Only two samples of lung carcinoma shows the mobility shift on SSCP gel. It was observed that people in older age have more chances of cancer. In general population, males are more prone to larynx and lung cancer than female. Significant values were observed (p

This book provides up to date information about the status of beekeeping and honey industry in South East Asia. It include, origin of honeybees, a comprehensive account about all discovered honeybee species based on their reproductive isolation, South East Asian fauna of honeybees, floral sources in general, availability of various nectar sources during different seasons of the year, present beekeeping trends, beekeeping as a source of income for poor, importance of honey as food and medicine, International Parameters to evaluate honey quality including factors affecting it, variation in honey composition based on honeybee species, storage effect on shelf life of honey. We extend our thanks to Mr Zahid Rehman and Mr Qasim Rehman in complying this book into pdf format.