A Review on the Potential Uses of Ferns

Man has been using plants as a source of food, medicines and many other necessities of life since ancient times. Even to this day the primitive tribal societies that exist depend on the plant life in their surroundings. Though there were investigations of the edible economic values of the higher plants, especially the pteridophytes and angiosperms have been unfortunately ignored. The pteridophytes are used in Homoeopathic, Ayurvedic, Tribal and Unani medicines and provides food, insecticides and ornamentations

How specific is the immune response to malaria in adults living in endemic areas?

It is documented that people living in malaria endemic areas acquire immunity against malaria afterrepeated infections. Studies involving passive transfer of IgG from immune adults to the nonimmunesubjects have shown that circulating antibodies play an important role, and that immuneadults possess protective antibodies, which susceptible malaria patients do not. Through a differentialimmunoscreen, we have identified several novel cDNA clones, which react exclusively andyet extensively with immune sera samples. Specific antisera raised against the immunoclones inhibitthe growth of parasites in culture. The clones studied so far turn out to be novel conserved Plasmodiumgenes. In order to study the response of sera of adults from malaria endemic areas of Indiaand Africa to these immunogens, we carried out ELISA assays using these immunopeptides, otherP. falciparum specific antigens, peptides, antigens from other infections such as mycobacterial infectionsand other proteins such as BSA. Children from the same areas and normal healthy urbanpeople showed very little activity to each of these categories. A large percentage of adults from endemicareas responded positively to all the malarial immunogens tested. However, the same personsalso showed high response to other antigens and proteins as well. The implications of theseresults are reported in this paper

CROO: A universal infrastructure and protocol to detect identity fraud

Identity fraud (IDF) may be defined as unauthorized exploitation of credential information through the use of false identity. We propose CROO, a universal (i.e. generic) infrastructure and protocol to either prevent IDF (by detecting attempts thereof), or limit its consequences (by identifying cases of previously undetected IDF). CROO is a capture resilient one-time password scheme, whereby each user must carry a personal trusted device used to generate one-time passwords (OTPs) verified by online trusted parties. Multiple trusted parties may be used for increased scalability. OTPs can be used regardless of a transaction’s purpose (e.g. user authentication or financial payment), associated credentials, and online or on-site nature; this makes CROO a universal scheme. OTPs are not sent in cleartext; they are used as keys to compute MACs of hashed transaction information, in a manner allowing OTP-verifying parties to confirm that given user credentials (i.e. OTP-keyed MACs) correspond to claimed hashed transaction details. Hashing transaction details increases user privacy. Each OTP is generated from a PIN-encrypted non-verifiable key; this makes users’ devices resilient to off-line PIN-guessing attacks. CROO’s credentials can be formatted as existing user credentials (e.g. credit cards or driver’s licenses)

Developing a MCDM-based framework for achieving circular economy through sustainable ship recycling

As a result of the growing global population, concerns about the energy crisis and sustainability issues are studied by researchers and policymakers to make a transit from a linear to a circular economy. However, the recycling of end-of-life (EOL) ships has long been a severely marginalized research area in the field of circular economy, and many EOL ships are still adhering to the outdated linear model. The number, size, and volume of ships being built around the world have consistently increased during the past 20 years. In near future, the global ship recycling volume is anticipated to increase dramatically which will aid the circular economy. Consequently, there is a necessity to develop a framework for ship recycling that will become a roadmap to achieving a circular economy. Hence, this study identifies the factors associated with ship recycling and creates a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) framework using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). The framework identifies that the main driving factors for achieving an effective circular economy through ship recycling are the government policies, the environmental and maritime regulations, and the funding for the capacity building

Effective suckling in relation to naked maternal-infant body contact in the first hour of life: an observation study

Background Best practice guidelines to promote breastfeeding suggest that (i) mothers hold their babies in naked body contact immediately after birth, (ii) babies remain undisturbed for at least one hour and (iii) breastfeeding assistance be offered during this period. Few studies have closely observed the implementation of these guidelines in practice. We sought to evaluate these practices on suckling achievement within the first hour after birth. Methods Observations of seventy-eight mother-baby dyads recorded newborn feeding behaviours, the help received by mothers and birthing room practices each minute, for sixty minutes. Results Duration of naked body contact between mothers and their newborn babies varied widely from 1 to 60 minutes, as did commencement of suckling (range = 10 to 60 minutes). Naked maternal-infant body contact immediately after birth, uninterrupted for at least thirty minutes did not predict effective suckling within the first hour of birth. Newborns were four times more likely to sustain deep rhythmical suckling when their chin made contact with their mother’s breast as they approached the nipple (OR 3.8; CI 1.03 - 14) and if their mothers had given birth previously (OR 6.7; CI 1.35 - 33). Infants who had any naso-oropharyngeal suctioning administered at birth were six times less likely to suckle effectively (OR .176; CI .04 - .9). Conclusion Effective suckling within the first hour of life was associated with a collection of practices including infants positioned so their chin can instinctively nudge the underside of their mother’s breast as they approach to grasp the nipple and attach to suckle. The best type of assistance provided in the birthing room that enables newborns to sustain an effective latch was paying attention to newborn feeding behaviours and not administering naso-oropharyngeal suction routinely

Predictors of Antibiotics Co-prescription with Antimalarials for Patients Presenting with Fever in Rural Tanzania.

Successful implementation of malaria treatment policy depends on the prescription practices for patients with malaria. This paper describes prescription patterns and assesses factors associated with co-prescription of antibiotics and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for patients presenting with fever in rural Tanzania. From June 2009 to September 2011, a cohort event monitoring program was conducted among all patients treated at 8 selected health facilities in Ifakara and Rufiji Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS).It included all patients presenting with fever and prescribed with AL. Logistic regression was used to model the predictors on the outcome variable which is co-prescription of AL and antibiotics on a single clinical visit. A cohort of 11,648 was recruited and followed up with 92% presenting with fever. Presumptive treatment was used in 56% of patients treated with AL. On average 2.4 (1 -- 7) drugs was prescribed per encounter, indicating co-prescription of AL with other drugs. Children under five had higher odds of AL and antibiotics co-prescription (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.46 -- 0.85) than those aged more than five years. Patients testing negative had higher odds (OR = 2.22, 95%CI: 1.65 -- 2.97) of AL and antibiotics co-prescription. Patients receiving treatment from dispensaries had higher odds (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 0.84 -- 2.30) of AL and antibiotics co-prescription than those from served in health centres even though the deference was not statistically significant. Regardless the fact that Malaria is declining but due to lack of laboratories and mRDT in most health facilities in the rural areas, clinicians are still treating malaria presumptively. This leads them to prescribe more drugs to treat all possibilities

Cytotoxicity, In vitro anti-Leishmanial and fingerprint HPLC- photodiode array analysis of the roots of Trillium govanianum.

Trillium govanianum Wall. ex D. Don (Melanthiaceae alt. Trilliaceae), commonly known as 'nagchhatry' or 'teen patra', distributed from Pakistan to Bhutan about 2500-3800 m altitude is indigenous to Himalayas region. In folk medicine the plant has been reported for the treatment of wound healing, sepsis and in various sexual disorders. This paper reports, for the first time, to evaluate the cytotoxicity, in vitro anti-leishmanial (promastigotes) and fingerprint HPLC-photodiode array analysis of the MeOH extract of the roots of T. govanianum and its solid phase extraction fractions. Reverse phase HPLC-PDA based quantification revealed the presence of significant amount of quercetin, myrecetin and kaemferol ranging from 0.221to 0.528 μg/mg DW. MeOH extract revealed distinguishable protein kinase inhibitory activity against Streptomyces 85E strain with 18 mm bald phenotype. The remarkable toxicity profile against brine shrimps and leishmanial was manifested by MeOH extract with LC50 10 and 38.5 μg/mL, respectively

Emergent magnetism at transition-metal–nanocarbon interfaces

Charge transfer at metallo–molecular interfaces may be used to design multifunctional hybrids with an emergent magnetization that may offer an eco-friendly and tunable alternative to conventional magnets and devices. Here, we investigate the origin of the magnetism arising at these interfaces by using different techniques to probe 3d and 5d metal films such as Sc, Mn, Cu, and Pt in contact with fullerenes and rf-sputtered carbon layers. These systems exhibit small anisotropy and coercivity together with a high Curie point. Low-energy muon spin spectroscopy in Cu and Sc–C60 multilayers show a quick spin depolarization and oscillations attributed to nonuniform local magnetic fields close to the metallo–carbon interface. The hybridization state of the carbon layers plays a crucial role, and we observe an increased magnetization as sp3 orbitals are annealed into sp2−π graphitic states in sputtered carbon/copper multilayers. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements at the carbon K edge of C60 layers in contact with Sc films show spin polarization in the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and higher π*-molecular levels, whereas the dichroism in the σ*-resonances is small or nonexistent. These results support the idea of an interaction mediated via charge transfer from the metal and dz–π hybridization. Thin-film carbon-based magnets may allow for the manipulation of spin ordering at metallic surfaces using electrooptical signals, with potential applications in computing, sensors, and other multifunctional magnetic devices

Hairy roots induction and artemisinin analysis in Artemisia dubia and Artemisia indica

Transformation of two Artemisia species (Artemisia dubia and Artemisia indica) was carried out by using two Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains LBA 9402 and 8196 for hairy roots production. Induction of hairy roots was higher in both Artemisia species when infected with LBA9402 as compared to 8196. When biomass of roots along with their artemisinin content was evaluated, a significant effect of Agrobacterium strain on fresh weight of roots was observed. While artemisinin content was significantly affected by both plant species as well as Agrobacterium strains used for infection. However roots of A. dubia infected either with LBA9402 or 8196 produced maximum artemisinin (0.603% and 0.753, respectively). When transformed roots were cultured in liquid medium, highest root fresh weight as well as artemisinin content (3.9 g and 0.042%, respectively) was observed in hairy roots of A. indica induced by Agrobacterium 819