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Background: Verotoxin producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) such as O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157: H 7 are an important human zoonotic pathogen. Small ruminants such as goats are important reservoir of VTEC. The detection of VTEC and virulence genes in goats has not been studied in the Jabalpur region of Madhya Pradesh. The present study was carried out to determine the occurrence of verotoxin producing E. coli in goats in and around Jabalpur. Methods: During the study period (July 2019 to February 2020), a total of 50 rectal swabs were collected from diarrhoeic goats. All the samples were processed for bacteriological isolation, molecular confirmation of E. coli and presence of the VT1 gene in E. coli. Result: On cultural isolation, E. coli isolates were found in 52.00 per cent (26/50) samples. Out of them, 21 isolates confirmed as E. coli by PCR. Detection of verotoxin producing E. coli (VTEC) by slide agglutination test showed 20.00 per cent (10/50) verotoxin producing E. coli serogroups including O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157. A total of 10 VTEC isolates were subjected to molecular analysis, Polymerase chain reaction determined VT1 gene in 10.00 per cent of goats positive for verotoxin producing E. coli indicating the goats as a potential source for direct transmission of VTEC to humans.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE Dental professionals are more prone to get exposed to various occupational health problems. The aim is to assess various dental occupational hazards and safety measures among dentists of Odisha, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted among 572 dental professionals of both genders. A self-administered questionnaire which comprises name, age, gender, number of years of experience, type of occupational hazard, awareness of occupational hazards, safety measures practiced, and working hours per week was given to dental professionals and the responses were recorded. RESULTS 545 (95.2%) dentists were responded out of 572 participants. Age group 20-40 years had 55 males and 24 females, 40-60 years had 154 males and 84 females, and >60 years had 116 males and 60 females. 220 dentists had 10-15 years of experience, 190 had 5-10 years, 60 had 20 years. The difference was significant (p < 0.05). The most common occupational hazard was musculoskeletal disorders seen in 480 (88%), stress in 273 (50%); maximum occupational hazard (52%) was noticed in dentists with

Current review includes medicinal importance and various pharmacological activities of Celastrus paniculatus Willd. Celastrus paniculatus Willd. belongs to Celastraceae family. It is a plant of medicinal importance and is being used in Ayurveda from a very long time to treat different disorders mainly brain related disoders. It is also known as ‘Tree of life’. It is commonly known as Malkangani and Jyothishmati in hindi and sanskrit respectively. Different studies have proved that it has various pharmacological activities which includes neuroprotective activity, rejuvenative activity, cardiovascular activity, analgesic activity, anti-inflammatory activity, antiinfertility activity, antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging activity anti-arthritic activity etc. It has been proved in various studies that Celastrus paniculatus willd. is a potent drug for improving memory and intellect. This manuscript reviews current information on various pharmacological and medicinal activities of Celastrus paniculatus.

Current study discussing the ethnobotanical importance of the different part of the plant Dalbergia sissoo its pharmacological activity and various formulation. Nature is like a treasure of medicine. From last thousands year nature give us several type of medicines which we use for the treatment of different type of diseases and valetudinarism. Dalbergia sissoo is one the most crucial/significant plant with full of medicinal attribute. Dalbergia sissoo (Fabaceae) has reported to possess different type pharmacological activity such as antinociceptive activity, anti-coagulant activity, antibacterial activity, anti-inflammatory activity, memory enhancing activity, antiulcer activity, nephro-protective activity, anti-spermatogenic activity, analgesic activity, antipyretic activity, antitermitic activity, antilithiatic activity, antidiabetic activity, anthelmintic activity, immunomodulation activity and so on. This study divulging the medicinal important and all pharmacological action of the different part of the plant Dalbergia sissoo.

Pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination (PAC) in groundnut is a serious quality concern globally, and drought stress before harvest further exacerbate its intensity, leading to the deterioration of produce quality. Understanding the host–pathogen interaction and identifying the candidate genes responsible for resistance to PAC will provide insights into the defense mechanism of the groundnut. In this context, about 971.63 million reads have been generated from 16 RNA samples under controlled and Aspergillus flavus infected conditions, from one susceptible and seven resistant genotypes. The RNA-seq analysis identified 45,336 genome-wide transcripts under control and infected conditions. This study identified 57 transcription factor (TF) families with major contributions from 6570 genes coding for bHLH (719), MYB-related (479), NAC (437), FAR1 family protein (320), and a few other families. In the host (groundnut), defense-related genes such as senescence-associated proteins, resveratrol synthase, seed linoleate, pathogenesis-related proteins, peroxidases, glutathione-S-transferases, chalcone synthase, ABA-responsive gene, and chitinases were found to be differentially expressed among resistant genotypes as compared to susceptible genotypes. This study also indicated the vital role of ABA-responsive ABR17, which co-regulates the genes of ABA responsive elements during drought stress, while providing resistance against A. flavus infection. It belongs to the PR-10 class and is also present in several plant–pathogen interactions.

Genetic mapping identified large number of epistatic interactions indicating the complex genetic architecture for stem rot disease resistance. Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is an important global crop commodity and serves as a major source of cooking oil, diverse confectionery preparations and livestock feed. Stem rot disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii is the most devastating disease of groundnut and can cause up to 100% yield loss. Genomic-assisted breeding (GAB) has potential for accelerated development of stem rot resistance varieties in short period with more precision. In this context, linkage analysis and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for resistance to stem rot disease was performed in a bi-parental recombinant inbred line population developed from TG37A (susceptible) × NRCG-CS85 (resistant) comprising of 270 individuals. Genotyping-by-sequencing approach was deployed to generate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping data leading to development of a genetic map with 585 SNP loci spanning map distance of 2430 cM. QTL analysis using multi-season phenotyping and genotyping data could not detect any major main-effect QTL but identified 44 major epistatic QTLs with phenotypic variation explained ranging from 14.32 to 67.95%. Large number interactions indicate the complexity of genetic architecture of resistance to stem rot disease. A QTL of physical map length 5.2 Mb identified on B04 comprising 170 different genes especially leucine reach repeats, zinc finger motifs and ethyleneresponsive factors, etc., was identified. The identified genomic regions and candidate genes will further validate and facilitate marker development to deploy GAB for developing stem rot disease resistance groundnut varieties.

Aflatoxin-affected groundnut or peanut presents a major global health issue to both commercial and subsistence farming. Therefore, understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms associated with resistance to aflatoxin production during host&ndash, pathogen interactions is crucial for breeding groundnut cultivars with minimal level of aflatoxin contamination. Here, we performed gene expression profiling to better understand the mechanisms involved in reduction and prevention of aflatoxin contamination resulting from Aspergillus flavus infection in groundnut seeds. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of 16 samples from different time points during infection (24 h, 48 h, 72 h and the 7th day after inoculation) in U 4-7-5 (resistant) and JL 24 (susceptible) genotypes yielded 840.5 million raw reads with an average of 52.5 million reads per sample. A total of 1779 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Furthermore, comprehensive analysis revealed several pathways, such as disease resistance, hormone biosynthetic signaling, flavonoid biosynthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxifying, cell wall metabolism and catabolizing and seed germination. We also detected several highly upregulated transcription factors, such as ARF, DBB, MYB, NAC and C2H2 in the resistant genotype in comparison to the susceptible genotype after inoculation. Moreover, RNA-Seq analysis suggested the occurrence of coordinated control of key pathways controlling cellular physiology and metabolism upon A. flavus infection, resulting in reduced aflatoxin production.

Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by soilborne saprophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus and closely related species that infect several agricultural commodities including groundnut and maize. The consumption of contaminated commodities adversely affects the health of humans and livestock. Aflatoxin contamination also causes significant economic and financial losses to producers. Research efforts and significant progress have been made in the past three decades to understand the genetic behavior, molecular mechanisms, as well as the detailed biology of host-pathogen interactions. A range of omics approaches have facilitated better understanding of the resistance mechanisms and identified pathways involved during host-pathogen interactions. Most of such studies were however undertaken in groundnut and maize. Current efforts are geared toward harnessing knowledge on host-pathogen interactions and crop resistant factors that control aflatoxin contamination. This study provides a summary of the recent progress made in enhancing the understanding of the functional biology and molecular mechanisms associated with host-pathogen interactions during aflatoxin contamination in groundnut and maize.

In this paper, nonparametric procedures for testing equality of quantiles against an ordered alternative are proposed. These testing procedures are based on two different estimators of the quantile function available in literature. Limiting distributions of the test statistics are derived. Simulations have been carried out to check the performance of the tests.

Among neurological complications associated with dengue, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) has not been reported in pediatric population. We report a 10-year-old girl with severe dengue who developed PRES. The patient presented with hemorrhagic shock that required fluid resuscitation and inotropic support. She developed seizures with encephalopathy 2 days after recovering from the shock. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination was negative for dengue (no white blood cells in CSF with negative polymerase chain reaction for dengue). Her clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings showed typical changes associated with posterior encephalopathy that reverted after resolution of hypertension. Repeat MRI after a month was normal. PRES should be considered as a possible differential diagnoses of dengue associated encephalopathy, especially in cases with normal CSF examination and characteristic MRI changes.

Sustainable development (SD) has been the focus of environmentalists, academicians, policymakers and, economists in designing innovative thinking instead of traditional methods to be ecologically sensitive and adaptive. SD and wellbeing together have been closely interlinked in the past literature but the relationship between multiple dimensions of wellbeing and SD in presence of personality traits is missing. The conceptual framework presented provides directionality between three dimensions of wellbeing (hedonic, eudaimonic and social) and SD. The framework proposes a bidirectional relationship between SD and wellbeing of an individual. The paper also points to the role of academia and higher education teachers in process of SD. Personality traits come out to be a strong predictor of all dimensions of wellbeing as well as sustainability efforts from an individual level. The findings have relevance in designing sustainable public policy, education curriculum at institute level, personality modulation programs and community-oriented indices.

A simple, efficient, and environmentally friendly ionic liquid mediated protocol for the synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives using carbonyl substrate and phenylenediamines has been described. A range of ionic liquids were synthesized, characterized via IR, 1H and 13C NMR and used as a solvent as well as catalyst for above protocol. The catalytic activities of ILs were evaluated and the relationship between the catalytic activity and acidity was discussed. It was also found that among the all ILs, [Bmim]CF3SO3 was the most effective, eco-friendly and less expensive solvent and catalyst for the above etiquette. This method is of significant value due to the eco-friendly nature of ionic liquid and non usage of separate catalyst to drive the reaction forward. The protocol proves to be efficient and environmentally benign in terms of good to excellent yields, low reaction times, simple work-up, ease of recovery, and reusability of ionic liquid for six times.

Tests based on two estimators of the quantile function are proposed for successive comparison between ordered quantiles. Limiting distribution of the test statistics under null hypothesis is studied. Simulations are carried out to find power of the tests.

Aflatoxin is considered a “hidden poison” due to its slow and adverse effect on various biological pathways in humans, particularly among children, in whom it leads to delayed development, stunted growth, liver damage, and liver cancer. Unfortunately, the unpredictable behavior of the fungus as well as climatic conditions pose serious challenges in precise phenotyping, genetic prediction and genetic improvement, leaving the complete onus of preventing aflatoxin contamination in crops on post-harvest management. Equipping popular crop varieties with genetic resistance to aflatoxin is key to effective lowering of infection in farmer’s fields. A combination of genetic resistance for in vitro seed colonization (IVSC), pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination (PAC) and aflatoxin production together with pre- and post-harvest management may provide a sustainable solution to aflatoxin contamination. In this context, modern “omics” approaches, including next-generation genomics technologies, can provide improved and decisive information and genetic solutions. Preventing contamination will not only drastically boost the consumption and trade of the crops and products across nations/regions, but more importantly, stave off deleterious health problems among consumers across the globe.

Background: B12 deficiency is extremely common in India. Deficiency has varied manifestations and causes a range of disorders such as anemia, gastrointestinal, and neuropsychiatric manifestation and affects all age groups. Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess the clinical and sociodemographic variables associated with Vitamin B12 deficiency among symptomatic patients and to correlate the symptoms with serum level of Vitamin B12 deficiency. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study carried out among 97 patients attending fever outpatient department at civil hospital, Ahmedabad. Patients were interviewed with pretested questionnaire and were subjected for biochemical estimation of Vitamin B12, mean corpuscular volume, and hemoglobin. Results: Median age of attendees was 25 years (range: 13–64). Three out of eight symptoms were weakness (96.9%), tingling and numbness in hand and feet (60.8%), and fatigue (57.7%). All the patients who were tested on the basis of symptoms were found to be having Vitamin B12 insufficiency (

As world modernisation progresses with technology and expansion of business opportunity via globalisation many economist, environmentalist and NGOs have raised their concern towards depleting natural resources and shared common thoughts on urgent need to focus on sustainable development attempts globally. One impending factor is poverty that is both a cause and outcome of poor sustainable development. This paper works towards analysing the impact of poverty, more especially gendered poverty on sustainable development. It creates to develop trend overtime of women discrimination and inequality across demography leading to gender poverty in South Asian region. It also builds theory towards importance of gender equality economically and in socio-cultural terms for environment restoration.

The electronic, structural, elastic, thermal and mechanical properties of Lutetium intermetallic compounds LuX (X = Mg, Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Cd and Hg) have been studied using ab-initio full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) in their non magnetic phase. The ground state properties such as lattice constant, bulk modulus, pressure derivatives of bulk modulus are reported in CsCl-(B 2 phase) structure. We also report the band structure and density of states at equilibrium lattice constant. The calculated band structures indicate that these intermetallics are metallic in nature. The second order elastic constants of these compounds are also predicted for the first time. The ductility of these compounds is determined by calculating the bulk to shear ratio B / G H .

In the present article, a new nonparametric estimator of quantile density function is defined and its asymptotic properties are studied. The comparison of the proposed estimator has been made with estimators given by Jones (1992), graphically and in terms of mean square errors for the uncensored and censored cases.

The structural, electronic, elastic and bonding properties of four transition metal carbides, ScC, YC (group III), VC and NbC (group V), have been investigated systematically using the first principles density functional theory (DFT). The full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange correlation has been used for the calculation of the total energy. The ground state properties, such as equilibrium lattice constant, bulk modulus, are computed and compared with theoretical and experimental data. The electronic and bonding patterns of the two groups of compounds have been analyzed quantitatively and compared with the available data. It is clear from band structures that all the four transition metal monocarbides are metallic in nature. Analysis of elastic constants reveals that the carbides of group III are ductile in nature while those of group V are brittle.

Phosphorus is a key nutrient for increasing productivity of legumes. It is required for plant growth and root development. Phosphorus deficiency in soil is widespread and crops grown under deficient situation show significant response to fertilizer phosphorus. At several places normal yield of crops could not be achieved despite judicious use of NPK fertilizers due to deficiency of micronutrients in soil, in general, that of Zn in particular. The knowledge regarding the use of optimum dose of nutrients especially Phosphorus and Zinc is of serious concern. The literature about the performance of fodder cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in relation to phosphorus and zinc nutrition is reviewed in this paper.

The structural, elastic and thermal properties of four transition metal monocarbides ScC, YC (group III), VC and NbC (group V) have been investigated using full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within generalized gradient approximation (GGA) both at ambient and high pressure. We predict a B 1 to B 2 structural phase transition at 127.8 and 80.4 GPa for ScC and YC along with the volume collapse percentage of 7.6 and 8.4%, respectively. No phase transition is observed in case of VC and NbC up to pressure 400 and 360 GPa, respectively. The ground state properties such as equilibrium lattice constant ( a 0 ), bulk modulus ( B ) and its pressure derivative ( B′ ) are determined and compared with available data. We have computed the elastic moduli and Debye temperature and report their variation as a function of pressure.

A theoretical study of structural, electronic, elastic, thermal and mechanical properties of nonmagnetic intermetallics YM (M=Cu, Zn and Ag), which crystallize in CsCl-type structure, is performed using first principles density functional theory based on full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The calculations are carried out within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange correlation potential. The calculated ground state properties such as lattice constants, bulk modulus and elastic constants agree well with the experiment. From energy dispersion curves, it is found that these compounds are metallic in nature. The ductility of these intermetallics is determined by calculating the bulk to shear ratio B / G H . The calculated results indicate that YAg is the most ductile amongst the present YM compounds. The results obtained are compared with the available experimental and theoretical results. The mechanical and thermal properties are predicted from the calculated values of elastic constants.

The structural, electronic, elastic and thermal properties of two lutatium mono-pnictides (LuAs and LuSb) have been studied using the density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. The calculations indicate that there is a structural phase transition from their ambient NaCl – (B1) to CsCl – (B2) structure at 56.7 and 25.2 GPa along with the volume collapse percentage of 3% and 5%, respectively. Structural parameters like lattice constant (a0), bulk modulus (B) and pressure derivative of the bulk modulus (B′) are presented. The calculated band structures indicate that B1 and B2 phase of these compounds are metallic. We have calculated the second order elastic constants for these compounds. We also compare the ground state (a0 and B) and high pressure phase transition (Pt) properties for three members of lanthanide series.

The structural, elastic and thermal properties of three heavy monoantimonides of holmium, erbium and thulium ( Ln Sb, Ln =Ho, Er and Tm) have been investigated theoretically by using an interionic potential theory consisting of long-range Coulomb, short-range repulsive and van der Waal’s (vdW) interactions. These compounds exhibit first-order crystallographic phase transition from their initial NaCl-type structure to CsCl-type structure at pressures 27, 33.2 and 29.8 GPa for HoSb, ErSb and TmSb, respectively. The values of elastic constants and Debye temperatures as a function of pressure are also reported. The elastic properties such as Young modulus ( E ), Shear modulus ( G ), Poisson ratio ( υ ) and anisotropic ratio ( A ) in an NaCl-type structure are also predicted.

Background: Travelers play a significant role in the spread of infectious diseases across international borders, through their travel patterns and behaviors. Travel may be the only risk factor for infectious diseases that are well controlled in the travelers’ country of residence, particularly vaccine-preventable diseases. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and practice of travel vaccination and malaria prophylaxis among resident doctors of BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Civil Hospital and BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad. The study was conducted from July 2017 to October 2017. A pilot study was conducted among 20 resident doctors, and the prevalence of knowledge of travel vaccination was found to be 65%. Using the formula 4pq/L2, data were collected from 100 resident doctors. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel 2013 and EpiInfo 7. For statistical analysis, Chi-square test was applied. Ethical consent was taken from all respondents. Results: 86% of the resident doctors were having knowledge about travel vaccination, and 79% were knowing about the requirement of malaria prophylaxis given to travelers. The travel vaccine knowledge was 100% among the persons above 30 years of age, and it was 86% in the younger age group (20–25 years). Country-wise knowledge about travel vaccination was more for developing countries than developed countries. Only 8.3% gave the history of taking immunization for international travel. Reasons for not taking immunization were not required for country of travel followed by non-awareness. Conclusion: The knowledge of travel vaccine and malaria prophylaxis was more among the 30+ age group followed by 20–25 age groups, and the knowledge of both was more among males. The practice of travel vaccination was found to be poor.

The structural and elastic properties of praseodymium monochalcogenides (PrX: X = S, Se, Te) and monopnictides (PrY: Y = P, As, Sb, Bi) with NaCl-type structure have been investigated by using an interionic potential theory with necessary modification to include the effect of Coulomb screening due to the delocalized f-electrons of rare earth ion. The calculations are done at ambient as well as at high pressure. The structure of the high pressure phase of PrX compounds is CsCl-type while all the PrY compounds have been found to undergo from their initial NaCl-type structure to high pressure body centered tetragonal (BCT) structure, which can be seen as the distorted CsCl-type with c/a ratio ≈ 0.82–0.87. The calculated transition pressures are in good agreement with the experimental results. The elastic properties like second-order elastic constants for PrX, Y compounds are calculated for the first time. The nature of the bonding is also predicted by calculating the distance between the ions with the increa...

Pressure-induced structural phase transition of gadolinium monopnictides GdX (X=As and Sb) has been studied theoretically using an inter-ionic potential theory. This method has been found quite satisfactory in case of the pnictides of rare-earth and describes the crystal properties in the framework of rigid-ion model. We have modified the ionic charge so that it may include the Coulomb-screening effect by the delocalization of f electron of the rare-earth ion. The anomalous structural properties of these compounds with many f electrons have been interpreted in terms of the hybridization of f electrons with the conduction band and strong mixing of f states of Gd ion with the p orbital of neighbouring pnictogen ion. Both the compounds are found to undergo from their initial NaCl ( B 1 ) structure to body centered tetragonal (BCT) structure at high pressure and agree well with the experimental results. The BCT structure is viewed as distorted CsCl structure and is highly anisotropic with c / a =0.82–0.85. The nature of bonds between the ions is predicted by simulating the ion–ion (Gd–Gd and Gd–X) distance at high pressure. Elastic properties of these compounds have also been studied with their second-order elastic constants.

A theoretical study on structural, electronic, magnetic and thermal properties of actinide monocarbides AnCs (An= Np and Cm), which crystallize in NaCl-type structure, has been performed using self consistent tight binding linear muffin tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method at ambient as well as at high pressure. Both non-spin and spin polarized calculations have been performed to check the magnetic stability. We observe that both the compounds are metallic in nature and ferro-magnetically stable at ambient pressure. The calculated ground state properties such as lattice constants and bulk modulus are compared with the available results. The Debye temperature is also estimated for the first time.

The full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP‐LAPW) method has been used to investigate systematically the structural and electronic properties of non‐magnetic NaCl‐type ScC and YC. We predict a B1 to B2 structural phase transition at 127.8 and 80.4 GPa for ScC and YC, respectively and the structural parameters such as lattice constant, bulk modulus are reported. The band structures and density of states at ambient as well as at high pressure are computed. Our results are in good agreement with available experimental and theoretical data. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first quantitative theoretical prediction of the structural phase transition of ScC and YC, for which no experimental work has been reported so far.

The pressure induced structural phase transition and elastic properties of lutatium monopnictides LuX (X = N, P, Bi) have been studied using the first principles density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. The present work indicates that there is a structural phase transition from their ambient NaCl‐ (B1) structure to CsCl‐ (B2) structure at 299, 105 and 27 GPa along with the volume collapse of 4.7, 6.8 and 7.0%, respectively. Structural parameters like lattice constant (a0), bulk modulus (B) and pressure derivatives of bulk moduli (B′) are presented. We also report the second order elastic constants for these compounds.

In the present work we investigated theoretically the electronic, magnetic and structural properties of two rare-earth nitrides (REN: RE = Sm, Eu) by using self- consistent tight-binding linear muffin tin orbital (TBLMTO) method. Magnetically, both the rare earth nitrides (RENs) are stable in ferromagnetic (FM) state, while its ambient structure is found to be stable in NaCl-type (B1) structure. From the present study we predict the pressure induced structural phase transition in both RENs from the relatively open NaCl-type structure into more dense CsCl-type structure at 8.6 GPa and 14.6 GPa respectively. They form a new class of half-metallic magnets with high magnetic moments and are strong candidates for applications in spintronics and spinfiltering devices. We have therefore, calculated electronic band structures, equilibrium lattice constants, cohesive energies, bulk moduli and magnetic moments for REN compounds in both B1 and B2 phases.