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Sex comb is a sexually dimorphic trait-a group of male specific bristlespresent on the tarsal segments of the prothoracic leg (T1) in Sophophoranspecies of Drosophila (fig 1.10a). It is absent from the rest of the species ofDrosophilidae. Thus the sex comb is an evolutionary innovative trait(Lakovaara and Soura, 1982; Lemeunier et al., 1986; Kopp and True, 2002).The chaetotaxy of the prothoracic leg of females do not show variation fromthe chaetotaxy of the prothoracic leg of males of the non-Sophophoran group(Kopp and True, 2002; Barmina and Kopp, 2007). As previously mentionedthere exist a dramatic variation in the number, position and morphology of sexcomb in different species of Sophophora enabling sex comb to enjoy a diverseevolutionary phylogenetic position (Kopp and True, 2002; Kopp and Barmina,2005). Sex comb has got diverse roles in courtship and mating (Spieth, 1952;Cook, 1977; Ng and Kopp, 2008), indicating that their evolution has beendriven by sexual selection. The sex comb develops from a group of bristlescalled the transverse bristle row (TBR) which is present on the T1 of both themales and females of Drosophilidea (Hannah-Alavah, 1958; Tokunaga, 1962).The TBR which are recruited to develop into sex comb undergo two importantevents of modifications i) rotation ii) chitinization (Held et al., 2004; Atallah etal., 2009; Tanaka et al., 2009). The transformation of the primitive bristle to thenewly evolved sex comb should have been resulted from a genetic shift in thedevelopmental circuit regulating the formation of the primitive bristles on thetarsal segments of the prothoracic leg.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) belongs to the Retroviridae family and the sub family Lentivirinae. Infection with HIV usually culminates in AIDS over a variable period of time. AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV primarily infects critical cells in the human immune system such as helper T cells (specifically CD4 T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells). The infection results in the loss of natural defense against trivial infections and makes the patient susceptible to various opportunistic infections resulting in the eventual death of the patient. HIV has a diploid RNA genome encoding nine viral proteins. HIV-1, demonstrates high genetic diversity due to lack of proof reading ability of its enzyme, reverse transcriptase. Although the HIV-1 epidemic in India is mainly due to subtype C, other subtypes have also been reported from different parts of India. To combat the infection and for the development of new anti-viral strategies, it is necessary to appreciate the extent of naturally found variations in HIV-1 genes. The focus of the present work was to study the naturally occurring novel mutations in HIV-1 Rev. LTR, Nef and Vpu genes.Since Rev is an important regulatory gene of HIV-1 genome for expression of HIV-1 structural proteins and production of genomic RNA. We first study the genetic and functional characterization of HIV-1 Rev derived from HIV-1 infected individuals in North India to find out the levels of genetic changes and to determine their functional relevance.

Twenty-five centuries ago, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu marked the danger ofpossessions (Kasser, 2003). We are all materialists in our lives up to some extent.Materialistic goals are important for our daily living and we enjoy materialistic goods to alevel. Being materialistic to certain limits is not evil, until these goods begin to become thecause of our behaviour and actions. Materialistic desires become obstacles when we are tooattached to worldly possessions rather than spiritual development, relationships and evenpeace of mind.Materialism in Psychology?Materialism is an interdisciplinary concept but has great importance in the field ofpsychology also. Studying materialism is a vital component of studying human behavior.Throughout life every person view certain things as valuable which may be present in anyform. It may be happiness, spirituality, religion, relationship, family, home life, career,adventure, fun or in some cases acquiring material possessions (Kasser, 2003). Whilesocializing an individual starts adopting the ways and norms of the society, materialism isalso seen to be affected by the type of society in which a person lives. Society constantly tellsus the importance of acquiring money which leads to an increase in our happiness, and thatone should constantly try to achieve these goals in order to attain happiness. But it has beenseen that in a constant urge to accomplish these goals of accumulation of wealth andpossessions, we often miss out on various life experiences, depths of interpersonalrelationships, quality of life, and above all our psychological health. A beautiful example ofthe above stated situation has been mentioned by Kasser (2003) in book 'The High Price ofMaterialism':