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The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of Achyranthes aspera seeds and leaves on the immune system of magur Clarias batrachus challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila in pond conditions. Magur fry (0.51 ± 0.032 g) were cultured in hapas set inside a pond and were fed with three feeds. Two experimental feeds FS1 and FS2 were supplemented with 0.5% seeds and leaves of A. aspera, respectively and FC3 was the control one. After 90 days of feeding, fish were challenged with A. hydrophila. In FC3, 70% fish died within 48 h of challenge, while 25 and 30% mortality were recorded in FS1 and FL2, respectively. The cumulative mortality rates were 70, 45 and 35% in FC3, FL2 and FS1, respectively. The average weight and specific growth rate of magur were significantly higher in FS1 compared to others. Serum lysozyme, myeloperoxidase, nitric oxide synthase and superoxide dismutase levels were significantly higher in FS1 compared to others. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and carbonyl protein levels were significantly lower in FS1 compared to others. In liver and head kidney of FS1 and FS2 fed magur, the iNOS, SOD-C, TNF-α, Cytochrome c, Caspase 9 were up-regulated. Caspase 3 was also significantly up-regulated in FS1 and it was followed by FL2 treatment. A. aspera incorporated feeds improved the immune system of fish and gave protection against bacteria even in the pond conditions.

Background and objective The burden of drug resistant tuberculosis (DRTB) has posed a huge challenge to for the governments, throughout the world. India has 27% of the global DRTB burden with incidence of 130,000 cases. India has kept an ambitious target of elimination of tuberculosis by 2025 which requires understanding and mitigating various determinants of DRTB. Methods The retrospective case control study was undertaken from May to September 2019 among drugresistant (cases) and drug sensitive (controls) tuberculosis patients from two districts of Himachal Pradesh, India. A total of 211 participants were recruited in the study, which includes all 102 cases and randomly selected, age and sex matched 109 controls. A semi structured questionnaire, adapted from a study by Lobo et al, was used for assessing the determinants of DRTB and DSTB. The data collection was undertaken from district and block level health care facilities followed by home visits to patients. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine risk factors associated with DRTB. Results Diagnostic delay (aOR-7.72, p value 0.000), history of treatment default (aOR-2.97, self history of tuberculosis (aOR 1.42, p value 0.01), migration (aOR-4.84, p value 0.000), smoking (aOR-2.70, p value 0.014), and belonging to rural area (aOR-2.62, p value- 0.013) were found as independent risk factors for the occurrence of DRTB. Conclusion The risk factors identified in the study should be prioritized by the policy makers, implementators and educators for framing appropriate policies in TB control programme in India. The diagnostic delay as a risk factor merits active case finding of TB patients and educating health care staff and community.

The immunostimulatory properties of seeds and leaves of Achyranthes aspera (Linn.) was evaluated in rohu Labeo rohita in the pond conditions. Rohu fry (1.9 ± 0.08 g) were introduced in nine hapas (25 hapa−1) set inside a pond. Two test diets enriched with 0.5% seeds (D1) and leaves (D2) of A. aspera and control diet (D3) were fed for 60 days. Then fish were immunized with chicken-RBC and blood and tissue samples were collected on days-7, 14 and 21 after immunization. The average weight was significantly (p

The obstetric quality of recovery scoring tool (ObsQoR-11) was developed and validated in the United Kingdom for use after elective and emergency caesarean delivery. Quality of recovery scoring tools validated in one country may not be valid in other countries with significant cultural, socio-economic and linguistic variations. The aim of the current study was to validate a Hindi version of the ObsQoR-11.In this prospective observational study, 100 parturients who underwent elective caesarean delivery in a tertiary care obstetric referral university hospital in North India were asked to complete a Hindi version of the ObsQoR-11 scoring tool 24 h after surgery. The performance of the Hindi version of ObsQoR-11 was assessed using measures of validity, reliability, and feasibility.The Hindi version of ObsQoR-11 correlated moderately with the global health visual analogue scale (r=0.45, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.59; P 0.0001) and discriminated well between good and poor recovery (mean (SD) score 84.6 (9.4) vs 75.0 (11.2); P 0.0001). The reliability and internal consistency were moderate (Cronbach's alpha=0.66; Spearman-Brown Prophesy Reliability estimate=0.57) with good repeatability (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.85, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.93; P 0.0001) and no floor or ceiling effects. All parturients completed the questionnaire in a (median (IQR) time of completion of 3 (1.5 - 5.5) min).The Hindi version of the ObsQoR-11 questionnaire is a promising scoring tool to evaluate quality of recovery after elective caesarean delivery. Further research is needed to evaluate the Hindi tool in other institutions in India as well as in other languages.

Objective India is one of the countries with high maternal mortality ratio. Home deliveries persist despite various initiatives, including cash incentives, to promote hospital birth. This study aims to compare the profile of women who deliver at home and those who deliver at institutions with a special focus on migration status. Methods A list of all women who delivered between January to December 2012 was obtained from the antenatal register of a polyclinic in Chandigarh, India. An unmatched case control study design was used to compare the profile of women who delivered at home and women who delivered in an institution. Results Of 219 women studied, 57 (26%) had delivered at home. Our study identified being a migrant, having lower family income, living in slums, illiteracy of mother, early age at marriage, higher parity and no previous childbirth in an institution as factors favoring home delivery. Ninety three percent of home deliveries were among women who had migrated into Chandigarh from other states. The significant association between migration status and home delivery (Odds ratio (OR) = 3.262, p = 0.026) ceased to exist after adjusting for education (OR = 1.699, p = 0.367) and income (OR = 2.277, p = 0.152). Conclusion and clinical implication Most home deliveries had occurred among migrant women. Health-related choices of the migrants apparently reflect the influence of other social determinants of health like education and income. Mainstreaming of the health efforts addressing the complex web of social determinants intertwined with the process of migration is the need of the hour.

In the present study, we report perhaps for the first time the use of novel varieties of Brassica oleracea var. botrytis and Raphanus sativus as potential bioreductant, to synthesize highly stable silver nanoparticles (AgNPs, no aggregation observed for six months), which is a significant finding as plant extract-directed AgNPs are intrinsically unstable and tend to aggregate. The reduction of Ag+ to Ag0 nanostructures was confirmed using UVVis spectroscopy showing SPR spectra at 400–435 nm. Nanosight and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis showed monodisperse spherical AgNPs (4–18 nm). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed that the polyphenolics and other secondary metabolites including glucosinolates in the aqueous extracts may act as reducing/capping agent for the nanoparticle synthesis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the face centered cubic crystalline (fcc) structure of AgNPs. Controlled synthesis of AgNPs was achieved by varying experimental parameters (AgNO3 concentration, extract volume, pH and temperature). These AgNPs exhibited strong antibacterial activity at significantly lower concentration (5 ppm) against both Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Myroides, Psuedomonas aeruginosa) and Gram positive (Kocuria and Promicromonospora) bacteria. In the present study, the green AgNPs showed (10–30%) better antimicrobial efficacy than chemical AgNPs and AgNPs from other Brassicaceae members. These green AgNPs may have promising application in nano-drug formulation to combat bacterial infections, in future.

For the first time, Negative Differential Resistance (NDR) is reported in purely polymeric systems. A tri-layer thin film system of PEDOT:PSS, P3HT and PCBM was prepared using spin coating method on ITO substrates and Al contact was deposited on other side using thermal vacuum evaporation. Current –Voltage (I-V) measurements were carried out at room temperature where NDR behaviour was observed which was repeatable only qualitatively for as-prepared device. On annealing at 40 °C for 2 h, the NDR became stable however at the cost of peak broadening and was even repeatable quantitatively within reasonable percentage of errors. On further annealing at higher temperatures (60° & 80° C), the NDR disappeared most likely due to isolated networks and disconnected domains of P3HT/PCBM. Simple construction, robust NDR and large current shown by these devices make them potential candidate for the development of organic memory elements.

With the investigation of 2D monolayer, there is intensive study on ultra-small sized 1D nanomaterials such as nanoribbons , nanowires and nanoflakes etc. Here we have systematically elucidated the spin-dependent, shape and size dependent structural, electronic and magnetic properties of two transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanoflakes namely: Cr m S n and Cr m Se n using density functional theory . Here we take the triangular and rhombic type configuration of nanoflakes. We found that the structural configuration becomes more stable as we increase the size of the nanoflakes. The HOMO-LUMO gaps increases with the increase in size of nanoflakes. The studied nanoflakes are magnetic semiconductor except two flakes Cr 12 S 20 and Cr 8 S 16 which are spin gapless semiconductors (SGS). So these efforts of nanoscaling helps us to engineer electronic devices at nanoscale . Also our spin dependent findings underscore the importance of TMDs nanoflakes for their future applications in spintronics , optoelectronics etc.

Discovery of two dimensional materials have drawn considerable attention to 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. We have systematically elucidated the tunable spin-resolved electronic and optical properties of monolayers and nanoribbons (armchair and zigzag) of MX 2 (where M = Cr, Mo, W and X = S, Se). This study reveals that monolayers and armchair nanoribbons are non-magnetic semiconductors except CrS 2 and CrSe 2 nanoribbons. The armchair nanoribbons of CrS 2 and CrSe 2 and all zigzag nanoribbons show magnetic nature. The 7-ACrS2NR, 5-ZCrS2NR and 5-ZWS2NR systems are found to be antiferromagnetic while all other magnetic MX 2 TMDs are ferromagnetic. In contrast to all ZMX2NR, the 5-ZCrS2NR shows characteristics of Huesler alloy. In optical properties, there are multiple plasmon frequencies for semiconductor monolayer and metallic nanoribbons. The metallic, ZMX2NR ( ↓ ) show transparent behaviour beyond infrared region whereas ZMX2NR ( ↑ ) , reflect extreme ultraviolet radiations up to ω p . These findings underscore their importance for future applications in spintronics, photovoltaic devices, optoelectronics etc.

Little is known about the effectiveness of information strategies on energy conservation in developing countries. In this study, we conduct a field experiment in an apartment complex in India to test how information about electricity usage impacts the electricity consumption of urban middle class households. Our results, based on fifteen-minute electricity readings over an academic year, show that non-monetary messages that framed electricity consumption in terms of environmental and health impacts were more effective than messages emphasizing the monetary savings of reducing electricity consumption. Households in the environmental/health group accessed the online energy-monitoring dashboard more frequently and reduced their electricity usage by 18.4% relative to the control group. Households in the monetary group did not significantly alter their usage. These results about revealed preferences are contrasted with stated preferences disclosed in a survey of urban Indians who describe money, not health, as the main motivation for energy conservation. Our findings have important implications for the development non-monetary strategies for energy conservation in developing countries.

Childhood blindness due to corneal ulceration has historically been prevalent among poor Indian children. To tackle this situation the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, India, launched (after field-testing) massive dose based national vitamin A (Vit-A) prophylaxis program. Over a period of time reduction in childhood mortality was also hailed as a beneficial effect of the program. Data from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) indicate that in most Indian states there has been a gradual reduction in the prevalence of Bitot's spots. However, it was not attributed to the prophylaxis program because of its low and patchy coverage. It was, rather, attributed to the control of malnutrition, along with measles vaccination and improvement in healthcare access. Various studies have concluded that massive dose vitamin A prophylaxis does not reduce childhood mortality; this may have been due to the Hawthorne effect; whereby beneficial effects arose from frequent contact of health workers with community members. Paradoxically, harmful effects of massive doses of Vit-A are documented, e.g. acute toxicity in certain groups of children, ranging from increased intracranial pressure, mental retardation (postnatal period), and even death. Vit-A also intensifies bone demineralization, and increased levels can lead to calcium deficiency and, hence, growth retardation in vulnerable children. According to the present authors, for children who have Bitot's spots or who have just recovered from an attack of measles, the best approach is to give Vit-A in therapeutic doses along with adequate daily intake of vegetables and fruits. Public-spirited citizens, along with the scientific community, must ensure the scrapping of the universal massive dose Vit-A prophylaxis approach, to avoid Vit-A toxicity and reduce economic burden to the health system.

Neuropathic pain associated with chronic alcohol consumption is a medico-socioeconomical problem that affects both central and peripheral nervous system and has no satisfactory treatment till date. The present study was designed to investigate the protective effect of co-administration of curcumin and sildenafil on alcohol induced neuropathic pain in rats. In order to carry out this, ethanol (35% v/v, 10g/kg, p.o.) was administered for 10 weeks to induce neuropathic pain. Curcumin (30 and 60mg/kg, i.p.) and sildenafil (5 and 10mg/kg, i.p.) were given alone and in combination at their lower doses (30mg/kg curcumin and 5mg/kg, sildenafil, i.p.) to investigate the changes in thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia, allodynia and histopathological parameters. Biochemical estimations of thiobarbituric acid reactive species, glutathione and protein was also carried out to evaluate oxidative stress. The results revealed that chronic alcohol consumption for 10 weeks caused significant thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia, allodynia and increased oxidative stress. Individual administration of both the drugs at their low as well as high doses were able to improve the symptoms of alcohol induced neuropathic pain. Whereas co-administration of curcumin and sildenafil at their lower doses itself were found to significantly improve nerve functions, biochemical and histopathological parameters as compared to their individual administration. It is therefore proposed that co-administration of curcumin and sildenafil may bring new dimension towards attenuation of alcohol induced neuropathic pain affecting central as well as peripheral nervous system.

Background Food-borne illnesses have been a recognized hazard for decades. Recent promulgation of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, indicates the concern of our Govt. for food safety. Research on effectiveness of food safety interventions in our country is remarkably scarce. Hence, the present study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of north India to create evidence-based results for food safety interventions. Methods The study was before and after intervention trial which was registered with CTRI. Data collection was paperless using a software. All food handlers (n = 280) working inside the hospital were recruited. Intervention package comprised Self-Instructional Manual in Hindi for food handlers, short film for sensitization of food handlers on food safety titled ‘Gravy Extra’, and a documentary titled ‘Food Safety from farm to Fork’. Chi square test, paired t test, and Wilcoxon sign rank test were used. Results The mean age of food handlers was 35 ± 2 years. Majority (61.7%) of food handlers were educated less than 10th standard. Nearly 60% of them had up to five years of experience. At base line majority (68.9%) had a fair knowledge about food safety issues. There was a significant improvement in food safety knowledge and practice score of food handlers after the intervention (p

In this report we show that the laser textured stainless steel meshes which serve as excellent oil water separator immediately after laser processing, lose their oil water separation capability after storage in ambient air. This was possibly due to the reactive nature of the metal oxides formed during laser processing which resulted in transition of the wettability of processed metallic meshes from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic during storage. To overcome this issue, we show that by using a glass cover plate over the metal mesh during laser processing, micron/submicron sized glass particles can be deposited on to the mesh via a process known as laser induced plasma assisted ablation. Since the glass is inherently hydrophilic and inert, and therefore the glass particles coating produced a stable superhydrophilic/underwater-superoleophobic surface which was observed to maintain its superhydrophilicity for the tested duration of ~8 months and perform oil/water separation with an efficiency of ~96% for various oils. Further, the glass particles coated mesh was found to sustain several cycles of sandpaper abrasion before losing its oil water separation capability.

In this paper, we report the enhanced electrochemical characteristic performance of porous gel polymer electrolyte, due to dispersion of sodium aluminate (NaAlO2) active fillers in it. The salt solution consisting of, sodium perchlorate (NaClO4) dissolved in binary mixture of ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate (EC:PC) was entrapped in poly(vinylidinefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) polymer matrix to obtain the micro-porous sodium ion conducting gel polymer electrolyte films by using the phase inversion technique. Small loading of the active NaAlO2 fillers in gel polymer electrolyte results in significantly improved ionic conductivity (σmax=0.68 mS cm−1 at room temperature), Na+ ion transference number (tNa+∼ 0.45) and electrochemical stability window (ESW ∼ 4.1 V). Dielectric studies have been performed to explore the ion dynamics in the electrolyte system. The Na-S prototype battery delivers maximum discharge capacities of ∼ 210, 139 and 51 mA h g−1 at drain currents of 0.10, 0.25 and 0.50 mA cm-2, respectively. The optimized electrolyte composition with high liquid retention, conductivity and transport properties can be utilized for upcoming sodium batteries operating at room temperature.

The genus Ocimum displays excellent variability among the species and sub-species due to the highly cross-pollinated nature and interspecific hybridization. The present investigation was carried out to identify the commercially promising growth stage(s) in different Ocimum for exatraction of oil and bioactive compounds at heighest. A set of three cultivated species were evaluated to study the variation in morpho-physiological traits and essential oil composition harvested at three stages namely vegetative, flowering and seed setting stage. The experiment was conducted for three consecutive years in factorial randomized complete block design with three replicates. The analysis of variance exhibited that the individual effect of Ocimum species and growth stage along with their interaction effect was significant in all the morpho-physiological parameters and bioactive constituent of oil in a pooled analysis. Highest plant height (103.95 cm) was observed in O. gratissimum L. harvested at seed setting stage while harvesting at flowering stage exhibited maximum leaf area (26.80 cm2), oil (0.52 %) and eugenol content (85.82 %). Sweet basil harvested at seed setting stage disclosed maximum branches per plant (21.53) and leaves per plant (4949) although linalool content (47.99 %) was found highest in harvested at flowering stage. O. basilicum L. was detected a great source of methyl chavicol (7.48 %) though this species was weaker source for methyl cinnamate. Among the studied species, O. gratissimum showed a negligible amount of methyl eugenol content in oil. A positive correlation between the morpho-physiological traits, oil content and its constituents with the various growth stages were recorded. None of bioactive compounds exhibited any correlation with oil content. Principle component analysis revealed that of the total variation, O. gratissimum contributed maximum (61.58 %) variation followed by O. basilicum (35.36 %). The results of current study suggested that the different Ocimum species can be harvest at various growth stages to get the maximum yield and target chemical compounds based on the needy industrial value.

Phospholipase C proteins are phospholipid hydrolysing enzymes and crucial components of abiotic stress triggered lipid signaling in plants. PLCs are implicated in plant reaction to drought, salinity, and cold stress responses, however, characterization of the PLC family in the legume crop chickpea is missing. Here, we identify and describe nine PLC encoding genes in the chickpea genome. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the chickpea PLC family has evolved through a common path in dicots. Subcellular localization of fluorescence tagged proteins confirmed cytoplasmic and plasma membrane bound forms of PLCs in chickpea. The promoters of all the PLC genes are comprised of several hormone response related, development and abiotic stress related cis-regulatory elements. Expression analysis in five developmental stages (germination, seedling, vegetative, reproductive and senescence) showed significant expression of multiple PLCs in germination, vegetative and reproductive stages, suggesting their diverse role in various developmental processes. qRT-PCR expression analysis of the entire PLC gene family under drought, salt and cold stresses revealed that most PLC genes are differentially expressed in multiple abiotic stresses. These observations indicate the involvement of PLC gene family in abiotic stress signaling and responses in important legume crop. The present study opens new avenues for utilizing PLC- related information in biotechnological programs for abiotic stress tolerance and legume crop improvement.

A study of swelling dynamics was applied to analyze the internal structure with regard to inter-chain entanglements of a bio-molecular film. Lysozyme – an enzyme protein was spun coated on silicon substrates to study swelling dynamics when exposed to water vapor. Two different samples were prepared with two different spinning speeds with 500 and 1000 rpm. The changes in the thickness of the films were progressively monitored using x-ray reflectivity technique as a function of time till the saturation of thickness. The swelling dynamics for protein layer were fitted with an existing polyelectrolyte chain swelling model. The fittings were used to obtain diffusion coefficient and charge fraction. It was found that the spinning speed strongly affects the swelling dynamics, charge fraction and saturation thickness. The slower dynamics in 1000 rpm film were attributed to inter-chain entanglements arising due to higher degree of compression during spinning. The enhanced degree of inter-chain entanglements leads to complete loss of swelling functionality on a mild thermal treatment. This study has stronger implication for the analysis of internal structure of homogeneous biomolecular films for inter-chain entanglements which are otherwise difficult to infer from direct space measurement techniques.

A laser is constructed comprising of Nd 3+ doped yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO 4 ) and gadolinium vanadate (Nd:GdVO 4 ) in order to obtain simultaneous dual wavelength operation at 914 nm and 912 nm emitted by the respective crystals under 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 9/2 laser transitions. The performance of the laser is studied experimentally and analyzed using laser rate equation model incorporating the cross saturation terms. The simulated trend of variation of output power at 912 and 914 nm as a function of pump power agrees reasonably well with the experimental data and confirms that the saturation of gain at Nd:GdVO 4 crystal by the 914 nm is much stronger than the saturation of gain at Nd:YVO 4 crystal by the 912 nm. It has been found that to obtain simultaneous dual wavelength operation the relative gain at the Nd:GdVO 4 crystal should be considerably higher than that at the Nd:YVO 4 crystal. At a pump power of 29.7 W and 22.6 W applied to Nd:GdVO 4 and Nd:YVO 4 crystals respectively, 1.3 W of output power at 912.2 nm and 1.7 W of output power at 914 nm was obtained simultaneously. The frequency difference of the two wavelengths is 0.73 THz and the state of polarization of the two wavelengths can be easily varied by changing the relative orientation of the c -axes of the crystals.

Functionalization of lignin was carried out with 4,4′-diphenyl methane diisocyante (MDI) at 90 °C for 60 min. Formation of the resulting reaction products was confirmed with the help of FTIR, FESEM–EDAX and DSC. Polymer blends were prepared using an isocyanate prepolymer (NCO/OH: 3.5) and functionalized lignin (up to 15 wt%) and evaluated their phase miscibility, wettability, rheology and mechanical properties. Under DMA run, the maximum storage and loss moduli of blends were observed at 5 wt% lignin content. Wettability results indicated that as the lignin content increased in the blends, the contact angle of probe liquids on the substrate increased while polar component of surface-free energy decreased affecting their wettability. FTIR spectra of the blends showed disappearance of –NCO peak at 2270 cm−1 supported its consumption in the network formation. Rheological test revealed that lignin-prepolymer blends needed more stress to flow and also had more viscosity recovery compared with the parent system. The single-lap joint shear strength of blends was higher with the aluminium substrate than the wood. The pull-off adhesive strength of blend at 5 wt% lignin content was ∼19% more than the parent prepolymer. The composites made with isocyanate blend and pine needles exhibited acceptable properties as specified in the standard (EN 312).

Purpose School teachers can play a key role in the first-aid management of school children experiencing a seizure. The teachers have a pivotal role in disseminating knowledge to the children of diseases experienced by them and developing positive attitudes among the children regarding the diseases. The present study investigated the knowledge and practices used by teachers to manage epileptic seizures. The study also tested an epilepsy intervention educational package to see whether it improved the knowledge and practices of the teachers regarding epilepsy. Methods A total of 85 teachers in schools from Chandigarh, a city of northern India, participated in the study. At the start of the study the teachers completed a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire on the first-aid management of epileptic seizures. They were then presented with an intervention package that included audio-visual material on basic aspects of epilepsy. The teachers were then retested after the intervention (one immediately and another after three months from the intervention). A scoring system was devised to quantify the knowledge, attitude and skills of teachers. Results More than 90% of the teachers had previously either heard or read about epilepsy. Nearly half of the teachers said that books and magazines were the most common source of their information, followed by the internet. A comparison of the knowledge, attitudes and skills about the first-aid management of epilepsy based on the before and after questionnaire scores showed significant improvements in the various domains ( p Conclusion The epilepsy intervention educational package provided a positive, short term, impact on the knowledge and skills of teachers about epilepsy. There is a need for regular workshops to improve and reinforce the knowledge and skills of the teachers about health problems like epilepsy.

The immunostimulatory and disease resistance properties of herb Achyranthes aspera L. (Amaranthaceae) were evaluated in rohu Labeo rohita in pond. Rohu fry (1.9 ± 0.08 g) were cultured in hapas (25 hapa−1) set inside a pond and were fed with two experimental diets containing 0.5% seeds (D1) and leaves (D2) of A. aspera and control diet (D3). Fish were challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila after 80 days. The cumulative mortality rate of fish was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in D3 (28–48%) compared to others. Average weight was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in D1 (6.5–12.5%) compared to other treatments. Myeloperoxidase and nitric oxide synthase levels were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in D1 and D2 compared to D3. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and carbonyl protein levels were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in hepatopancreas and kidney of D1 compared to others. In hepatopancreas, the expressions of lysozyme C, loysozyme G, TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-1β were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in D1 compared to others. This treatment was followed by D2. In kidney, lysozyme G and TNF-α levels were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in D1 and D2 compared to D3. Whereas, IL-10 and IL-1β were significantly (P < 0.05) down-regulated and up-regulated, respectively in kidney of D2. There was up-regulation (P < 0.05) of TLR-4 in hepatopancreas and kidney of D1 and D2 diets fed rohu, respectively compared to others.

Summary This short-term observational study of infection control practice was performed in the medical emergency outpatient department (EMOPD) of a tertiary-care hospital in India when threatened by an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). An investigator attended the lobby daily to screen patients with symptoms for SARS. Patient/attendant load, patient flow, medical staff working practices and position in the EMOPD were observed. Infection control measures such as fumigation and cleaning were noted, as was the EMOPD laboratory function, use of personnel protection and display of information on infectious diseases. A total of 162 (7.4%) of the 2165 patients surveyed had respiratory symptoms but no cases of SARS were found. The flow of patients and their attendants was not systematic. No laboratory tests for SARS were available, and no educational material on SARS was displayed. The EMOPDs in key hospitals need be able to screen for infectious diseases, especially in view of the threats from SARS and Avian influenza.

Labeo rohita, rohu (200±17 g), were fed with two types of diets; an experimental diet, containing root extract (0.5%) of Achyranthes aspera (Amaranthaceae) as an ingredient and control diet without the root extract. After 4 weeks of feeding, fish were immunized with chicken RBC. Antigen-specific antibody response, total serum globulin and RNA/DNA ratio of spleen were determined for 4 weeks after immunization. Antigen-specific antibody and total serum globulin levels peaked on day 14 after immunization and gradually decreased towards day 28. Though hemagglutination antibody (HA) titers were always higher in the test group than the control group, total serum globulin level was significantly higher only on days 14 and 21. The sequential relationship between RNA/DNA ratio and protein level was found in the present study, as the RNA/DNA ratio was maximum on day 7 followed by higher serum protein level on day 14 in both groups. The RNA/DNA ratio was significantly (P

An organophosphorus ligand, namely, 1,2-bis(diphenylthiophosphinyl)ethane {Ph2P(S)CH2CH2P(S)Ph2; dppeS2} reacted with palladium(II) chloride in acetonitrile forming [PdCl2(dppeS2)](CH3CN) (1). Similarly, it reacted with mercury(II) bromide in acetone to yield HgBr2(dppeS2) (2). In these compounds, Pd/Hg are bonded to two S atoms of chelating dppeS2 ligand and to the respective halogen atoms. The geometry about Pd is distorted square planar with trans-bond angles S(1)PdCl(1) and S(2)PdCl(2) being 174.10(5)° and 172.85(5)°, respectively. The angles about Hg vary in the range 96.20(6)–124.56(4)°, suggesting highly distorted geometry about Hg. The bite angle S(1)HgS(2) of the ligand is 118.85° in 2 versus 97.76° in 1, and it demonstrates large flexibility of alkane moiety and stability of the seven-membered metallacyclic rings formed by dppeS2.

Positron lifetime and Doppler broadening measurements on highly overpressurised (P∼10Peq) helium bubbles in Al indicated abnormal variations at low temperatures, which is being assigned to the transformation of dense helium bubbles into the solid phase, as expected from the Simon–Glatzel equation. The bubble pressure calculated using separate models for the fluid and solid phases shows consistency with the helium freezing characteristics. The solid phase transition is further confirmed by verifying an exponential variation of the ultrasonic velocity with the solid bubble pressure.

A population-based case control study and monthly follow-up of 121 registered epilepsy cases was conducted during 1995-1997 in a resettlement colony of Chandigarh, India. History of various tentative risk factors, e.g. trauma, febrile seizures, family history of seizures, alcohol intake and other possible causes was elicited. An age- and sex-matched control was selected from the neighbouring families for each case. A discordant pair analysis was done for matched case/controls. History of head injury, febrile seizures and developmental delay was observed exclusively in cases (none present in controls). Odds for epilepsy were higher among people who had positive family history (O.R.= 2.1, chi2 = 5.5, C.I. = 1.1-4.3). All cases were followed up and interviewed for history of seizures and drug intake. Fourteen cases could not be followed up completely. Ninety-four (88%) of the remaining 107 cases did not have any seizures during the follow-up. Of them, 70 (75%) patients were not on medication, 13 patients were on phenytoin and 11 patients received phenobarbitone. Thirteen cases reported seizures during the follow-up. Four patients out of the latter had mental retardation and were not on medication. Cumulative incidence of epilepsy was estimated to be 0.6/1000 person-year exposure.

A brief account of heterometallic alkoxides containing alkoxometallate(IV) (e.g., {M2(OR)9}−, {M(OR)5}−, and {M(OR)6}−) ligands have been presented, with an emphasis on the correlation of their structural features on the basis of steric and allied factors.

In today's increasingly interconnected and social w orld, mobile devices are an integral part of people's lives. From smart phones to tablets to feature phones, mobile usage is growing steadily, fuelled by the po pularity of social networking, mobile and Internet apps, multi-media entertainment , online banking and e- commerce. As the growth in mobile devices creates new opportunities for consumers and businesses alike, there are also new threats em erging. The growing popularity and convenience of digital networks, however, come at a cost. As businesses and societies in general increasingly rely on computers and internet-based networking, cyber crime and digital attack incidents have incre ased around the world. The first major instance of cyber crime reported in 2000, whe n a mass-mailed computer virus affected nearly 45 million computer users worldwide . This paper examines the quickly evolving mobile landscape, Cyber Crimes, Business and Technical Decisions and Tradeoffs Companies, which will have to make to address the risk of fraud in the mobile channels.

Cholecystectomy through a small subcostal incision (mini-lap cholecystectomy), has recently been introduced as an alternative to conventional cholecystectomy in an effort to reduce its attendant morbidity. A trial was conducted to assess the morbidity of cholecystectomy performed through a small subcostal incision. Eighteen consecutive patients posted for elective cholecystectomy were operated through such an incision. In 2 [11%], the incision had to be extended. The records of these patients were retrospectively compared with an equal number of consecutive cholecystectomies previously performed by the same surgeon through a conventional incision. There was no significant difference in the average operating time, incidence of wound infection or the number of post-operative complications between the conventional and the mini-laparotomy group. However, the number of doses of post operative analgesic required, the duration of post-operative ileus, hospitalisation and convalescence needed was nearly halved. Thus mini-lap cholecystectomy has much lesser morbidity and is considered to be a safe and viable alternative to conventional cholecystectomy.

Enteroliths proximal to tuberculous ileal strictures are an uncommon cause of recurrent or subacute intestinal obstruction and the radiopaque shadows cast by them give rise to a diagnostic dilemma. Three such cases are reported and the etio-pathology and diagnosis of intestinal calculi discussed.

Two hundred traditional birth attendants (TBAs) of a community development block of India were interviewed. The majority were age 45 years or above (81%), illiterate (85%), and of low caste (78%). Most (88%) had three or more children. Although 27% had inherited the profession from older female relatives, only 4% have daughters or daughters-in-law in the profession. Almost half (48%) had conducted 11 or more deliveries in last year. The TBAs charged more money to deliver a male infant than to deliver a female. The TBA workforce in India appears to be shrinking, possibly because of gradual reduction in family size. Backup support from state maternal health care services is lacking. Existing cadre of TBAs should be involved in primary health care to ensure the survival of the institution of dais (TBAs) and to ensure the availability of basic maternity services to rural women.In Haryana State, India, during 1989-1991, a social worker interviewed 200 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in Raipur Rani Block in Ambala District to examine their sociodemographic characteristics and practices. Their mean age was 58.5 years, and 81% were older than 45 years old, indicating few new recruits. 71% of the TBAs gained a sense of happiness and fulfillment from their profession. 30% had not yet undergone formal training. TBA-based family planning services included recruiting, motivating, and escorting women to health centers and supplying condoms or oral contraceptives (OCs). 95% of TBAs approved of contraception and small families. TBAs received more compensation for the delivery of a boy than of a girl and for a first birth than for subsequent births. Compensation consisted of money, clothes, and cereal. 70% of currently practicing TBAs joined the profession before age 45. 25% had a previous-generation relative in the profession, yet just 4% were preparing a next-generation relative to become a TBA. As more and more TBAs grow old or die without being replaced by younger TBAs, the government will soon not be able to provide comprehensive maternal-child health coverage to rural women. Based on these findings, the government should adopt steps to recognize the importance of TBAs, adequately compensate them, train them, and improve their skills. It should do so until the rural health infrastructure absorbs or replaces the TBAs. It should integrate them into family planning programs by having them be community-based distributors of condoms and OCs or as a first level contact person for recruitment, supply, and follow-up. They should undergo continuing education sessions provided through the more than 150 medical colleges in India. If they are not compensated financially, the rural health service program may fail.

In the current scenario of software development, the objectoriented technology has become the de-facto for development. It has become very popular and has been proved to be highly useful in software development process. Genetic algorithm is a very effective optimization tool for many engineering application problems. There are many applications existing in genetic algorithm, but no one is with object-oriented systems. This paper approaches the application of genetic algorithm in object-oriented models. When we implement any application of genetic algorithm with object-oriented system, it increased the efficiency of system and gain momentum due to the availability of worthless processing power in any application. Object-oriented design, give a more natural representation of any kind of information. It has one more advantage of better memory management and code reusability. It would be very useful to work on defining methods to evaluate different object oriented models. To achieve the same, we proposed a genetic algorithm to evaluate object-oriented model.

With the huge amount of information available online, the World Wide Web is a fertile area for data mining research. The web mining research is at the cross road of research from several research communities such as database, information retrieval etc. With the possibility of world wide access current Web applications have an almost unlimited amount of potential users. Methods of data mining can be used to classify the user groups and to learn from their behaviour. With the collected information changes and optimizations can be applied to the Web application to hit the user’s requirements. One already established method for data mining is Web usage mining. Web usage mining is based on the logging information that is generated by the Web server when the user clicks through the site. A new approach that offers more flexibility as presented in this paper is multi-level data mining. It takes advantage of the several layers in a Web application. Guidelines that may be regarded as good practice in the field of data tracking will be introduced in this paper.

In order to make surfing the internet faster, and to save redundant processing load with each request for the same web page, many caching techniques have been developed to reduce latency of retrieving data on World Wide Web. In this paper we will give a quick overview of existing web caching techniques used for dynamic web pages then we will introduce a design and implementation model that take advantage of “URL Rewriting” feature in some popular web servers, e.g. Apache, to provide an effective approach of caching dynamic web pages.

In this paper we propose new methods for ordering the Web pages returned from search engines. Given a few search keywords, nowadays most search engines could retrieve more than a few thousand Web pages. The problem is how to order the retrieved Web pages and then to present the most relevant Web pages first. We propose new factors to allow relevant Web pages to be ranked higher. The factors include keyword popularity, keyword to Web page popularity, and Web page popularity. The keyword to Web page popularity records which Web pages have been selected corresponding to the search keywords. The Web page popularity determines how often the Web pages have been selected and also how many popular keywords are contained in the pages. Using these popularity factors, our system is able to rank more popular pages higher, which will help most search engine users find the more popular and plausibly the more relevant pages.