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Power generation from wind energy has increased to a great extent in India during the recent past. The operation of Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) during power generation process generates noise of two types, one is mechanical noise and other one is Air cut noise. Any undesirable sound is considered as Noise. There are government regulations for the noise generation by any industry/personnel. The main aim of present paper is to reveal the range and impact of noise and its effect to the nearby dwellings considering a case study approach for the wind farm located in southern part of India. Study records the data related to noise level within and nearby the WTGs and measures it effect for day and night time for wind turbine located in Udumalaipet area of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu India. Study uses both practical (on site data) and theoretical or standard noise level data prescribed by the Government of India to install any wind turbine generator near the dwellings. It also considers the important parameters like time and distance of measurement to assess the effect of noise considering different ratings of WTGs with different distance from them. Hence, it can be concluded that there is no issue of noise pollution to the neighboring society during the day and night time operation of WTG ratings of 0.85MW or 2 MW at different locations and are environmental friendly with their noise level within the acceptable level / zone prescribed by the Government authorities.

The concentration of heavy metals was analyzed each of 20 river water, suspended sediments and bed sediments along the stretch of Swarnamukhi River Basin. River water is not contaminated with heavy metals except Fe and Mn. Contamination factor in sediments shows considerable to very high degree contamination with Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn. The sources of these metals could be residential wastes, sewer outfall, fertilizers, pesticides (M-45 + carbondine) and traffic activities apart from natural weathering of granitic rocks present in the basin area. Principal component analyses indicate the interaction between metals in different media. The comparison of metals (Cu, Pb and Zn) in bed sediments of Swarnamukhi River with the Indian and world averages indicates that the values obtained in the basin are above the Indian averages and far below to the world averages. Average shale values and sediment quality guidelines point toward the enrichment and contamination of Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn to several fold leading to eco-toxicological risks in basin.

Regulatory agencies from all over the world have set up stringent guidelines with regard to drug degradation products due to their toxic effects or carcinogenicity. Lansoprazole, a proton-pump inhibitor, was subjected to forced degradation studies as per ICH guidelines Q1A (R2). The drug was found to degrade under acidic, basic, neutral hydrolysis and oxidative stress conditions, whereas it was found to be stable under thermal and photolytic conditions. The chromatographic separation of the drug and its degradation products were achieved on a Hiber Purospher, C18 (250 X 4.6mm, 5μ) column using 10 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile as a mobile phase in a gradient elution mode at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The eight degradation products (DP1-8) were identified and characterized by UPLC/ESI/HRMS with in-source CID experiments combined with accurate mass measurements. DP-1, DP-2 and DP-3 were formed in acidic, DP-4 in basic, DP-5 in neutral and DP-1, DP-6, DP-7 and DP-8 were in oxidation stress condition Among eight degradation products, five were hitherto unknown degradation products. In addition, one of the major degradation products, DP-2 was isolated by using semi preparative HPLC and other two, DP-6 and DP-7 were synthesized. The cytotoxic effect of these degradation products (DP-2, DP-6 and DP-7) were tested on normal human cells such as HEK 293 (embryonic kidney cells) and RWPE-1(normal prostate epithelial cells) by MTT assay. From the results of cytotoxicity, it was found that lansoprazole as well as its degradation products (DP-2, DP-6 and DP-7) were nontoxic up to 50 μM concentrations and the latter showed slightly higher cytotoxicity when compared with that of lansoprazole. DNA binding studies using spectroscopic techniques indicate that DP-2, DP-6 and DP-7 molecules interact with ctDNA and may bind to its surface.

A total of 112 bottom water and sediment samples collected at fixed stations in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon from four estuaries (Pennar, Uppateru, Swarnamukhi, and Kalangi) showed foraminiferal test abnormalities in heavy metal concentrations (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Pb). Low diversity of fauna was due to the predominance of a limited number of opportunistic species capable of achieving high densities in adverse environmental conditions and the reduction in the number of species intolerant of such conditions. In this study, classification of 54 common species according to their distribution is presented. Approximately 15 species showed quite low diversities at stations 23-27 and 44-51. Because of the effect of heavy metal pollution in these estuaries, drastic changes in the number of species and diversity of foraminifera were observed. These changes in foraminiferal species and the increase in test abnormalities are proxies of environmental stress on the estuarine ecosystem.

When an image is captured in low-light, it gets the low visibility. To overcome the low visibility of the image, some operations are to be performed. But in this paper, image enhancement is introduced using illumination mapping. First, R, G, B maximum values in each pixel of the considered image are to be calculated and then convert it into a grey scale image by applying the formulae. Some filters are used to remove the noise, the choice of filter depends on the type of noise, and then the image is preprocessed. The logarithmic transformation helps to increase the brightness and contrast of the image with a certain amount. Earlier there were some methods to enhance the low-light image, but illumination map existence is chosen. In this illumination, the image will be enhanced with the good quality and efficiency. The illumination technique will be the more efficient and more quality. The illumination corrects the R, G, B values to get the desired image, then Gamma Correction is applied. The Gamma Correction is a non-linear power transform, it helps to increase or decrease the brightness of the desired image when a low value of gamma is taken, the brightness will be increased and when a high value of gamma is taken, and the brightness will be decreased. The proposed system is implemented using MATLAB software. When different types of images are applied, different contrast and brightness levels that depend on the type of image are observed.

DNA barcoding is widely used for specie cataloging for unambiguous identification and conservation. In the present study, baseline information on the DNA barcoding of mitochondrial CO1 gene of some randomly caught West African birds were provided with five newly reported sequences for Tringa sp, Streptopelia decipens, Francolinus bicalcaratus, Tyto alba and Francolinus squamatus. Species identifications were made by comparing unknown CO1sequences against the DNA barcodes of known species through distance-based tree construction and alignment searching. The newly generated sequences are deposited in GenBank under accession numbers JX160000 - JX160017 and JX220905. Current study may contribute towards the development of a reference DNA barcoding database of West African birds.

Regulatory agencies from all over the world have set up stringent guidelines with regard to drug degradation products due to their toxic effects or carcinogenicity. Lansoprazole, a proton-pump inhibitor, was subjected to forced degradation studies as per ICH guidelines Q1A (R2). The drug was found to degrade under acidic, basic, neutral hydrolysis and oxidative stress conditions, whereas it was found to be stable under thermal and photolytic conditions. The chromatographic separation of the drug and its degradation products were achieved on a Hiber Purospher, C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μ) column using 10 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile as a mobile phase in a gradient elution mode at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The eight degradation products (DP1-8) were identified and characterized by UPLC/ESI/HRMS with in-source CID experiments combined with accurate mass measurements. DP-1, DP-2 and DP-3 were formed in acidic, DP-4 in basic, DP-5 in neutral and DP-1, DP-6, DP-7 and DP-8 were in oxidation stress condition Among eight degradation products, five were hitherto unknown degradation products. In addition, one of the major degradation products, DP-2, was isolated by using semi preparative HPLC and other two, DP-6 and DP-7 were synthesized. The cytotoxic effect of these degradation products (DP-2, DP-6 and DP-7) were tested on normal human cells such as HEK 293 (embryonic kidney cells) and RWPE-1(normal prostate epithelial cells) by MTT assay. From the results of cytotoxicity, it was found that lansoprazole as well as its degradation products (DP-2, DP-6 and DP-7) were nontoxic up to 50-μM concentrations, and the latter showed slightly higher cytotoxicity when compared with that of lansoprazole. DNA binding studies using spectroscopic techniques indicate that DP-2, DP-6 and DP-7 molecules interact with ctDNA and may bind to its surface. Copyright © 2017 John WileySons, Ltd.

This paper attempts an investigation of the potential area of the standalone hybrid (solar and wind) renewable energy source. The investigation are based on the optimization result and ranking status. The various coastal areas identified for this are Kilakarai, Mandapam, Thirupullani, Kadaladi and Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram District of Tamilnadu State, India. The sensitivity analysis is also conducted. The consumer demand data are collected through the local distribution agency for the identified coastal areas. The wind and solar resources data are collected from NASA’s surface meteorology and solar energy resource. HOMER has been used in this paper for optimization result and for sensitivity analysis. The preliminary investigation indicates that Thirupullani area is the potential area for standalone hybrid renewable energy system among the five coastal areas identified. By the sensitivity analysis, it is proved that the cost of energy, net present cost and operating cost was reduced to half of the actual cost, except the capacity shortage in Thirupullani area.Keywords: Solar and Wind Energy, HOMER, Potential Analysis, Ranking Status

With the increasing threat to environment and the fast depleting fossil fuel resources, hybrid power systems consisting of two or more renewable energy sources such as solar PV, wind, biomass, ocean thermal-with or without the back up of diesel generator have come to the forefront. These hybrid systems are normally integrated with battery banks for total reliability; such systems have brought about better quality of life in remote areas of developing economics. The remote areas in the state of Tamil Nadu in India possess excellent renewable energy sources. These areas fall under different climatic zones, are sparsely populated and are in the process of development. Though these areas are connected to the grid, Tamil Nadu grid is not stable; it is currently experiencing 40% short fall in generation. Thus grid power is available to these remote areas only for 10 h a day and even when available, there are voltage frequency problems. This paper analyses the economic feasibility of installing and operating hybrid systems in these areas. The areas are divided into different climatic zones and the hybrid system economy is analyzed for each climatic zone on the basis of NPC (net present cost), consumption of diesel and renewable fraction for all climate zones. The analysis indicates that the interior climatic zone – the area would be the optimum climatic zone to install HPS PV/diesel. The sensitivity analysis proves that the NPC of such a system can be reduced. It is suggested that due to high initial cost, government subsidy is necessary to adopt the system on a large scale. Such a profit will encourage development of renewable energy utilization and bring about rapid development of these remote areas.

Cuddapah Basin is the unique basin that has the attracted many earth scientists. The litho stratigraphy and the structure of the basin have been studied in detail by various authors. However, the research on the sedimentological aspect of the basin was comparatively less. There are number of ferruginous quartzites that occur has interbeds within the formations at all stratigraphic levels, including the rocks of Kurnool Group. These ferruginous quartzite are all glauconite bearing. Hence, the diagenetic aspects of the glauconite and the quartzite have been studied in detail. The field maps are prepared with the help of satellite data. Extensive field work was carried out and number of samples has been collected for laboratory studies. Wealth of literature is also presented for better understanding.

Controlling tuberculosis in India is a tremendous challenge. The disease is a major barrier to social and economic development. Based on the current scenario, the present observational prospective study was designed for 63 patients with tuberculosis admitted in in - patient department of a govern ment general hospital in four month s . Case sheets and laboratory reports of patients were coll ected and noted for evaluation. The study included patients who were all having active disease and absence of HIV infection. The follow - up of the patients was don e every day. The case sheets of the patients revealed t heir age distribution , gender, body weight distribution , history of illness and previous illness , social habits, common and uncommon signs and symptoms , diagnostic tests performed, treatment therapy pr ovided and adverse effects . Early identification of TB cases and the effective use of the first line drugs were the primary goals of the department. The common clinical features observed in the patients as well as the therapy provided by the physicians was typical and as per th e Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme of Government of India. Non - adherence, d r ug resistance, extra - pulmonary disease and sever e contaminant disease states were not observed.

In order to quantify spatio-temporal changes in the hydrogeochemistry of Swarnamukhi river basin, Andhra Pradesh, India, a total of 239 groundwater samples have been collected for pre- and post-monsoon seasons of 2014 and 2015. The geology of the study area is comprised of granite, granitic gneisses, shales, quartzites, laterites and recent alluvium along the river course. Based on the study of geochemical processes of different seasons, it is found that the occurrence of Na and HCO3 in 2014 shifted toward Ca and HCO3 in 2015 due to cation exchange process. Fe shows the higher concentration value than safe limit due to dissolution of ferruginous minerals and domestic sewage discharges. Bivariate plots of various ions and ratios depict the predominance of silicate weathering over carbonate and evaporite dissolution apart from anthropogenic activities in the enrichment of groundwater constituents. High nitrate concentration was observed in the urbanized regions of the basin followed by intense agricultural areas. Geochemical modeling was carried out using mineral saturation index and thermodynamic stability plots to deduce major weathered products. Most of the groundwater samples in the study area are saturated with carbonate minerals but are undersaturated with silicate minerals. Thermodynamic stability plots suggest the formation of kaolinite secondary mineral and presence of aluminosilicate minerals. Fuzzy calculation is applied to determine the water quality index, which categorizes a majority of the samples as excellent to good category for human use. Factor analysis points toward the mixed source identification of ionic constituents. Saline water mixing index model calculation suggests the effect of salinization in coastal areas due to heavy withdrawal of the fresh groundwater resources for various uses, whereas in the mainland it is due to agricultural runoff and domestic waste water.

With rapid increase of human population, swift growth of industries and intensive irrigation activities, groundwater quality is being increasingly endangered by agricultural chemicals and indiscriminate disposal of urban and industrial wastes. Hence, in water management, assessment of groundwater quality is as important as quantity especially in the arid and semi-arid regions. Evaluation of hydrogeochemical parameters and solute acquisition process controlling water chemical composition was studied by collecting 66 groundwater samples in pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in the Swarnamukhi River basin, Andhra Pradesh, India. Geologically, the study area comprises granite and granitic gneisses, quartzite and alluvium. The total dissolved solids classification reveals that majority of the groundwater samples are desirable for drinking, and all are useful for irrigation purposes. Major ion chemistry reveals the ionic dominance pattern among cations and anions is in the order: Na > Ca > Mg > K and Cl > HCO3 > NO3 > SO4 > CO3 > F > PO4 in both the seasons. 85 and 89 % of samples are very hard water in pre- and post-monsoon, respectively which needs softening for domestic uses. 48 and 42 % and 34 and 41 % of the samples of the study area are found having sodium (200 mg/l) and nitrate content (50 mg/l) in pre- and post-monsoon seasons, respectively, more than permissible limits which is not good for human consumption. Natural and anthropogenic sources of the solutes have been categorized with the help of different ionic ratios, plots and correlation matrix. Potential salinity sources include deep saline upcoming and wastewater infiltration. Salinity mapping shows brackish to fresh brackish water predominance in the study area. The plot of major ion in the Piper diagram reveals that majority of samples belongs to mixed type followed by Na–Cl facies. Four principal components were extracted from chemical data to explain the major sources and processes responsible for chemical characteristics of groundwater. It shows that silicate weathering, agricultural runoff (fertilizer input), municipal wastewater infiltration play a vital role in the enrichment of ionic constituents. Average water quality index shows that majority of the samples are good to permissible for drinking purpose. Various irrigation indices show good to permissible use of groundwater in agricultural activities. As per the LSI and RSI values, groundwater of the area is considered very aggressive and substantial corrosion is possible.

DNA barcoding is a widely used molecular approach for species cataloging for unambiguous identification and conservation. In the present study, DNA barcoding of some West African mammals were performed with six new mitochondrial CO1 sequences for Civettictis civetta , Tadarida nigeriae , Orycteropus afer , Heliosciurus gambianus , Equus africanus asinus and Funisciurus anerythrus which are absent in public databases such as BLAST/NCBI and BOLD. Sequence identifications were made by comparing unknown sequences against the DNA barcodes of known species through distance-based tree construction and alignment probing. The sequences have been deposited to GenBank/NCBI. Keywords: mtDNA, West African mammals, conservation, biodiversity.

Three whales washed ashore along Kerala coast of southwest India were identified as Bryde’s Whale Balaenoptera edeni Anderson based on sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and cytochrome b genes. The results of mtDNA sequencing in the present study confirm the presence of B. edeni species of ‘Bryde’s Whale complex’ in the coastal waters of India.

Njavara (shashtika in Sanskrit), a rice (Oryza sativa L.) landrace described in ancient Sanskrit treatises of Ayurveda for its nutritive and medicinal properties, is traditionally used in Kerala for Ayurveda treatments. We characterized the genetic resources of Njavara using 24 morphological traits and 664 amplified fragment length polymorphic (AFLP) markers. Different multivariate methods revealed four morphologically distinct types (morphotypes) in the Njavara germplasm, which were highly differentiated (Qst > 0.65) for several quantitative variables. Eight quantitative variables together with glume or bran color stably discriminated the four morphotypes. In accordance with ancient literature, most Njavara accessions exhibit a short maturity (

Acanthocephalan fauna are distributed globally as visceral parasites of vertebrates and arthropods. Morphological description of four known species of the newly described class Polyacanthocephala has been replete with controversies. However, Mitochondrial COI gene of two new cystacanths sequences; Polyacanthorhynchus nigerianus n.sp. (NG1 KC904074) and Polyacanthorhynchus echiyensis n.sp. (NG5 KC904075) infecting some parentenic individuals of Synodontis batensoda in Nigeria were sequenced. The resulting sequences were aligned with 36 other sequences of acanthocephalans representing three widely recognized classes; Archiacanthocephala, Palaeacanthocephala and Eoacanthocephala. The only representative of the new class Polyacanthocephala in the GenBank/NCBI Polyacanthorhynchus caballeroi (DQ089724) formed a common clade with these two new sequences. This study thus supports existence of the new class Polyacanthocephala as an independent class within Acanthocephala.

Pillai, P. M., Unnikrishnan, V., Kumar, U. Suresh (2014): Description, DNA barcode and phylogeny of a new species, Macrobrachium abrahami (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) from Kerala, India. Zootaxa 3768 (5): 546-556, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3768.5.2

Macrobrachium abrahami sp. nov. (Figs. 1���3) Materials examined. Holotype: 1 male (no. 1, table 2) (ZSI/ WGRS /IR/INV 2152), collected from Vamanapuram River (76 �� 53 ��54.00����E, 8 �� 43 �� 23.81 ����N), Kerala, South India, 6 February 2007. Paratypes: 1 male (no. 5, table 2) (ZSI/ WGRS /IR/INV 2153), 6 males (nos. 2 ���4, 6��� 8) (MGC/TVM/NHM-INV/ 4 / 2012). The holotype and paratype (no. 5) are deposited in the faunal depository of the Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghats Regional Centre, Kozhikode, and the paratypes (nos. 2 ���4, 6��� 8) are stored in the Natural History Museum of the Post Graduate Department of Zoology and Research Centre, Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Measurement of holotype in mm: total length, 57.0; carapace length, 17.0; length of rostrum, 7.5; length of telson, 7.0; first chelate leg: ischium (i) 3.0; merus (m) 5.0; carpus (c) 6.0; propodus (p) 3.0; dactyl (d) 0.6 Diagnosis. Rostrum: moderately long, distal end directed upwards, rostral formula 12���15 / 2���3, with 5���6 postorbital teeth; carapace smooth. Large second chelate leg: merus less than and propodus more than double ischium length; carpus equal to merus; ischium shortest, propodus longest. Fingers stout with 15 linear denticles on proximal half of cutting edge; pubescence restricted to base of fingers. Small second chelate leg: 6 small denticles at proximal cutting edge of fingers; 1 distal denticle comparatively larger. Dark pigment bands throughout the posterio-dorsal margin of uropodal exopod and endopod, its thickness equals the thickness of uropodal setae. Description. (holotype): Rostrum moderately long, tip over reaching end of antennular peduncle, basal crest not much raised, distal end directed upwards. Dorsal margin of rostrum with 14 teeth, 5 postorbital (table 1). Rostral teeth evenly distributed in all specimens; ventral margin with 2 teeth, short setae between teeth. FIGURE 1. Macrobrachium abrahami sp. nov., specimen no. 1, holotype (male). A, carapace-right lateral view; B, second large chelate; C, 2 nd chela enlarged; D, telson and uropod; E, 3 rd pereiopod, distal part; F, 3 rd pleopod; G, 2 nd pleopod of male; H, 1 st chelate leg. Carapace smooth, hepatic spine situated just below and behind antennal spine (figs. 1 A, 2). Abdomen glabrous, pleurae of somites I���III typical, those of IV and V directed backward, and of VI ending in spine. Telson conical with 2 pairs of spines on dorsal surface, proximal situated midway, and distal at about �� length. Posterior end of telson bears 2 pairs of movable spines, outer smaller, inner longer, and overreaching tip of telson; a few plumose setae between the inner pair of spines (fig. 1 D). Antennules typical in structure; outer lateral spine of antennal scale sharp, pointed forwards. First pair of chelate legs slender, tips of chelae over reaching antennal scale when extended. Ischium equal to propodus, shorter than merus; carpus twice as long as ischium, dactylus the shortest. Palm longer than fingers (fig. 1 H). Large second chelate leg strong; 0.72 times total body length; merus less than twice as long as ischium; propodus more than twice ischium. Carpus slightly shorter than merus, ischium shortest, propodus longest (fig. 1 B). Fingers stout, equal, 15 denticles at proximal half of cutting edge, distal end curved, ratio of fingers to palm 1.25: 1 (fig. 1 C). Pubescence restricted to the basal part of fingers; very delicate setae present throughout the palm. Second small chelate leg strong, 0.51 times total body length; ischium shorter than merus, merus shorter than carpus, carpus shorter than chela and slightly longer than palm. Palm equal to fingers; cutting edge of fingers bear 6 small denticles, distal one comparatively larger. Non-chelate legs and pleopods normal in structure for the genus Macrobrachium (fig. 1 E, F). The non-chelate legs progressively increase in length from first to third. Appendix interna more than half as long as appendix masculina, with spinous setae on inner side (fig. 1 G)., Published as part of Pillai, P. M., Unnikrishnan, V. & Kumar, U. Suresh, 2014, Description, DNA barcode and phylogeny of a new species, Macrobrachium abrahami (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) from Kerala, India, pp. 546-556 in Zootaxa 3768 (5) on pages 548-550, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3768.5.2, http://zenodo.org/record/227632

This paper reports a case in which a wildlife range officer had suspected that some people had killed a sambar deer (Rusa unicolor). Cooked meat and dried skin were seized from the suspects and forwarded to our laboratory for DNA testing to resolve the identity of the animal. Mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) analysis revealed that the cooked meat and skin of the animal were of a sambar deer by comparing the sequences with the reference sequence of R. unicolor generated in our laboratory. The study illuminates the use of barcode sequences and reference databases in wildlife forensic applications.

Macrobrachium abrahami, new species is described from Vamanapuram River, Kerala, South India. DNA bar-coding using Cytochrome B gene sequences has elucidated the taxonomic status of the new species and the ML tree reveals that M. abrahami sp. nov., is phylogenetically close to M. prabhakarani, but morphologically more similar to M. scabriculum. However, the species shares certain morphological characters with M. scabriculum, M. prabhakarani and M. lanatum, but differs remarkably from these three species in distinctive diagnostic characters: rostrum moderately long, convex, distal end directed upwards, rostral formula 12-15/2-3 with 5-6 postorbital teeth, and carapace glabrous. In larger second chelate leg, fingers stout, pubescence restricted to their base; proximal half of cutting edge with fifteen denticles. In smaller second chelate leg, cutting edge of both fingers carry six small denticles situated proximally, distal one comparatively larger. Delicate setae are seen throughout the palm. A row of dark chromatophores is present along the posterio-dorsal margin of uropodal exopods and endopods, close to the base of uropodal setae. The thickness of each band of the row is almost equal to the thickness of uropodal setae.

Automatic identification of software faults has enormous practical significance. This requires characterizing program execution behavior. Equally important is the aspect of diagnosing (finding root-cause of) faults encountered. In this article, we address the problem of identifying the root cause of failure from the test sequences that caused failure. Taking analogies from biological sequence alignment and information retrieval domains we propose two approaches for finding the root cause of failure. The first approach is to align all the test sequences pertaining to a fault and identifying the common pattern among these sequences. The other approach is based on an information retrieval technique viz., the latent semantic indexing (LSI). Our experiments and analysis showed that the sequence alignment based approach has the potential to aid significantly in identifying the root cause of failure. The LSI based approach automatically clusters the test sequences based on their functionality, which assists in determining the different manifestations of a fault.

The most common manifestation of HIV/AIDS in the kidney is the collapsing variant of focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN). Other forms of renal disease in HIV-infected patients include mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (GN), membranoproliferative GN, IgA nephropathy, minimal change disease and proliferative immune-complex GN. We present the case of a 42-year-old Caucasian male with HIV infection, treatment associated peripheral neuropathy, nephrotic syndrome and progressive renal failure. The initial and subsequent kidney biopsies showed diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis resembling diffuse proliferative (WHO class IV) lupus nephritis. There was no clinical or serological evidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Proteinuria improved with ACE-inhibitors, and renal function remained relatively stable while receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). A precipitous decline in renal function to end-stage renal disease followed a brief period of withdrawal from potent antiretroviral therapy during which the viral load rebounded. Considering previously reported cases, it appears that lupus-like nephritis is a rare but well-defined pattern of immune-complex-induced renal injury seen in HIV-infected patients. It appears to be markedly responsive to HAART.

Macrobrachium abrahami, new species is described from Vamanapuram River, Kerala, South India. DNA bar-coding using Cytochrome B gene sequences has elucidated the taxonomic status of the new species and the ML tree reveals that M. abrahami sp. nov., is phylogenetically close to M. prabhakarani , but morphologically more similar to M. scabriculum. However, the species shares certain morphological characters with M. scabriculum, M. prabhakarani and M. lanatum, but differs remarkably from these three species in distinctive diagnostic characters: rostrum moderately long, convex, distal end directed upwards, rostral formula 12–15/2–3 with 5–6 postorbital teeth, and carapace glabrous. In larger second chelate leg, fingers stout, pubescence restricted to their base; proximal half of cutting edge with fifteen denticles. In smaller second chelate leg, cutting edge of both fingers carry six small denticles situated proximally, distal one comparatively larger. Delicate setae are seen throughout the palm. A row of dark chromatophores is present along the posterio-dorsal margin of uropodal exopods and endopods, close to the base of uropodal setae. The thickness of each band of the row is almost equal to the thickness of uropodal setae.

In order to define their demographics and medical conditions, 218 diabetic patients undergoing hemodialysis in Brooklyn were interviewed and their charts reviewed.Patient rehabilitation was assessed with the Karnofsky score, and the urea reduction rate as well as serum albumin and hematocrit levels evaluated adequacy of hemodialysis.The majority of patients (167) were African-American, 25 were Whites, 19 patients were Hispanic and 6 were Asian. One patient was a Native American. The mean age was 60.5 years (range 16-88), and the majority, 52%, were women. Rehabilitation was poor, the mean Karnofsky score being 65.1+/-20.8, and only 6% of patients were working. By linear regression, there was no difference in the Karnofsky score according to gender, age, race, type of diabetes, education, family income or hematocrit level. Only the patients' self-perception of their psyche function, or how well they thought they were doing, was significant.Further work is needed to examine the reasons for the poor rehabilitation of diabetics on dialysis in Brooklyn.

The aim was to compare the 5 yr survival in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) alone, bronchiectasis (Br) alone and RA plus Br (RA-Br). A case-control study was carried out in which 32 patients with RA-Br were matched for age (within 5 yr), sex and (where possible) disease duration with 32 patients with RA alone. An additional comparison group of 31 unselected patients with Br was chosen. All patients were followed for 5 yr. Patients with RA-Br were 7.3 times more likely to die than the general population, 5.0 times more likely than the RA group and 2.4 times more likely than the Br group. An increased risk of death within the RA-Br group was associated with a history of smoking, more severe RA and steroid usage. The co-existence of RA and Br is associated with a poor 5 yr survival.