The aim of the present study was to compare plasma mineral status of anoestrus and normally cyclic cattle and buffaloes of central zone of Punjab and to evaluate the use of area specific mineral mixture as a treatment of anoestrus in dairy animals. Thirty two non-cyclic animals (16 cattle, 16 buffaloes) and 32 cyclic animals (16 cattle, 16 buffaloes) in the 2nd to 3rd lactation were selected for the study on basis of rectal examination and plasma progesterone levels at 0, 7 and 14 days by Radio Immuno Assay (RIA) technique. Blood samples from these animals were analyzed for various minerals viz., Ca, Mg, P, Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn. Anoestrus dairy animals had significantly lower levels of calcium, phosphorus and copper as compared to cyclic animals. For therapeutic trial, anoestrus animals (10 cattle and 10 buffaloes) kept as treatment group were fed area specific mineral mixture (50 gm/animal/day) for 2 months. In total, 17 animals out of 20 (85 percent) regained cyclicity i.e. had at least one value of plasma progesterone level above 0.5 ng/ml out of 3 weekly samples collected. Average time taken for animals to come into heat after area specific mineral mixture supplementation was found to be 53.4+-2.7 and 48.9+-2.1 days in buffaloes and cattle, respectively.

Systematic studies on expression and characterization of toll like receptors (TLRs) in buffalo and cattle will help to understand the innate immune response specific to each species of animals. TLR4 gene is one of the most studied innate immune receptors which is mainly triggered by lipopolysaccharide. Therefore, the present study was carried out to investigate the mRNA expression and sequence analysis of TLR4 in buffalo in comparison to that of cattle. In vitro expression of TLR4 was assessed by challenging the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) with bacterial LPS which showed significant increase of TLR4 gene expression (P LT= 0.01) in buffaloes when compared to cattle. Further the comparison of mRNA sequence of TLR4 of buffalo and cattle revealed 96 percent similarity with the cattle sequence. The primary structure of protein showed the highest percent of leucine amino acid for both the species of animals. At the same time, the number of Leucine Rich repeats (LRR) of buffalo is varied from those present in cattle TLR4. Alpha helix is the prominent secondary structure, however, there were few amino acid variations between buffalo and cattle in certain regions of TLR4 which altered the three dimensional conformation of TLR4 proteins, this in-turn possibly can influence the binding affinity and interaction with pathogens which may influence the difference in immune response in buffalo when compared to that of cattle.

A one way anova experiment was conducted to evaluate the meat production and physicochemical properties (pH, Color, Drip loss, Cook loss, TC, TG, Cholesterol, LDL, HDL and Iron content) of cattle and buffalo meat and blood. Five buffaloes and five cattle of similar age were considered as two groups and kept under a single plane of nutrition. No significant difference was observed between the groups in case of BCS, pH, drip loss and cooking loss of fresh or chilled meat. Buffalo meat reflected (L *) low lights (P LT 0.05) and showed significant (P LT 0.01) deep red - greenness (a *) contrast than cattle meat. Iron content of meat was found (P LT 0.05) higher in buffalo meat. In chemical composition, only ash and OM content differed significantly (P LT 0.05) between the species. IM fat and TC of buffalo meat was found significantly low (P LT 0.001) than cattle. Significant difference of TG and HDL (P GT 0.05) indicated the better quality of buffalo meat. But, LDL of meat and lipid profile of blood found non - significant. Finally we observed that, buffalo meat is better than cattle meat in context of nutritive value or physiochemical properties.

A total of 200 cattle of all age groups and sex were examined from various villages of Taunsa Sharif District Dera Ghazi Khan. The prevalence of babesiosis in cattle was investigated. The association between age, gender, season and prevalence rate are investigated by regression analysis. Blood samples were collected from tail vein of cattle in a tube containing EDTA. The collected samples were dispatched to Civil Veterinary Hospital, Taunsa Sharif for microscopic examination. Thin and thick blood smears were prepared and smears were stained by using Giemsa's staning technique. The smears were examined under microscope for the identification of Babesia. Out of these 200 samples, 70 samples were identified as positive for Babesiosis. Overall prevalence of babesiosis in these areas was recorded as 35 percent. The study was conducted during summer months (May 01, 2014 to August 29, 2014).

Animal husbandry is the mainstay of economy of resource poor farmers' in Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP). Average milk yield of indigenous cattle was recorded only 2.75+-0.66 kg/day compared to 7.55+-1.20 kg/day in improved cattle. Accordingly, milk yield was recorded to be 3.06+-0.86 and 5.12+-1.71 kg/day in indigenous and improved buffalo. Rearing of improved livestock resulted into 2-fold higher energy inputs compared to indigenous ones. However, energy output was highest through milk in case of indigenous as well as improved breeds of cattle and buffalo. Economic analysis revealed that cost of human labour was highest (GT 40 percent) for rearing of indigenous livestock, followed by dry fodder (GT 25 percent). In case of improved livestock, cost of concentrate feed had maximum input (GT 30 percent). On average, 2000 to 2100 square m of fodder area is required to feed one unit of improved livestock in EIGP. Net monetary benefit was highest for improved cattle (US Dollar 523.10), followed by improved buffalo (US Dollar 135.68). The data indicated that animal husbandry is an important food production system in EIGP besides food crops and both the systems have been found complimentary to one another through emphasis on resource recycling.