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A K Chhabra

Publications and source records attributed to A K Chhabra.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Effect of early weaning, split-weaning and nursery feeding programmes on the growth of Landrace x Desi pigs.

An experiment using 164 crossbred pigs born to 20 first-parity sows was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of piglets in four weaning management regimens: T1, conventional weaning at 56 days; T2, early weaning at 28 days; T3, split-weaning of the heavier half of the litter at day 28, the remaining half being weaned at 56 days; and T4, split-weaning of the lighter half of the litter at 28 days, with the animals kept on a special nutrient diet up to 56 days, and the heavier half being weaned at 56 days. Split-weaning of the lighter half in combination with feeding a special nutrient diet resulted in an increase of average daily gain of 21% from day 28 to day 140 compared to conventional weaning and of 36% compared to early weaning at day 28. Compared to the control (T1), the average weights of piglets at the 140th day in groups T4 and T3 were 19.6% and 6.16%, respectively, higher, whereas that of the T2 was 8% lower. It is concluded that feeding a special nutrient diet to lighter pigs is beneficial in overcoming the post-weaning lag and enables maximal weight gain.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2000

An integrated SSR and RFLP linkage map of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.

We report the development, testing, and use (for genetic mapping) of a large number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer sets that amplify DNA simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. Most of the primer sets were developed from clones isolated from two sorghum bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries and three enriched sorghum genomic-DNA (gDNA) libraries. A few were developed from sorghum DNA sequences present in public databases. The libraries were probed with radiolabeled di- and trinucleotide oligomers, the BAC libraries with four and six oligomers, respectively, and the enriched gDNA libraries with four and three oligomers, respectively. Both types of libraries were markedly enriched for SSRs relative to a size-fractionated gDNA library studied earlier. However, only 2% of the sequenced clones obtained from the size-fractionated gDNA library lacked a SSR, whereas 13% and 17% of the sequenced clones obtained from the BAC and enriched gDNA libraries, respectively, lacked a SSR. Primer sets were produced for 313 SSR loci. Two-hundred sixty-six (85%) of the loci were amplified and 165 (53%) of the loci were found to be polymorphic in a population composed of 18 diverse sorghum lines. (AG/TC)n and (AC/TG)n repeats comprised 91% of the dinucleotide SSRs and 52% of all of the SSRs at the polymorphic loci, whereas four types of repeats comprised 66% of the trinucleotide SSRs at the loci. Primer sequences are reported for the 165 polymorphic loci and for eight monomorphic loci that have a high degree of homology to genes. Also reported are the genetic map locations of 113 novel SSR loci (including four SSR-containing gene loci) and a linkage map composed of 147 SSR loci and 323 RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) loci. The number of SSR loci per linkage group ranges from 8 to 30. The SSR loci are distributed relatively evenly throughout approximately 75% of the 1406-cM linkage map, but segments of five linkage groups comprising about 25% of the map either lack or contain few SSR loci. Mapping of SSR loci isolated from BAC clones located to these segments is likely to be the most efficient method for placing SSR loci in the segments.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Associated infections in persistent diarrhoea--another perspective.

Seventy-eight children diagnosed as cases of persistent diarrhoea (PD) from 1 month to 5 years of age (mean age 8.92 months) hospitalized during a 2-year study period were screened for the presence of non-gastrointestinal infections. Clinical screening suggested acute respiratory infection (ARI) in 30 per cent cases, urinary tract infection (UTI) in 19 per cent and acute suppurative otitis media (ASOM) in 10 per cent of cases. Investigations revealed pneumonia on chest X-ray (39 per cent), positive urine culture (32 per cent), leucocytosis (31 per cent) and positive blood culture (22 per cent). Seven cases (9 per cent) of pneumonia and 10 cases (13 per cent) diagnosed to have UTI were not identified on clinical screening and could be detected only after investigations. E. coli was the commonest organism isolated from urine culture (23 per cent) and blood culture (14 per cent); 54 per cent of cases had one or the other associated infection and 28 per cent were suffering from more than one infection. Bacterial pathogens were more frequently isolated from blood in children < 6 months (P < 0.01), with vomiting (P < 0.001), and severe malnutrition (P < 0.05); from urine in association with fever (P < 0.001), duration of diarrhoea > 4 weeks (P < 0.05), and vomiting (P < 0.001). Pneumonia was detected on chest radiograph more frequently in children with severe malnutrition (P < 0.001). Sixty eight per cent of cases were successfully treated with dietary management and appropriate treatment of associated infections and 18 per cent of cases died. Mortality was highest in association with sever oral thrush, severe malnutrition, septicaemia, and ARI. Our results suggest that majority of cases of PD are associated with one or the other non-gastrointestinal infections particularly UTI and ARI which may be missed on clinical examination unless efforts are made to investigate these children. Early detection and appropriate management of these infections can considerably modify hospital course and outcome.

Age Distribution↗