COPULATION BEHAVIORS OF INDIAN VULTURE (GYPS INDICUS) IN UDAIPUR DISTRICT, RAJASTHAN, INDIA

Frequency of copulation was recorded in Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) throughout the year or before and after egg laying periods. During the study total average 192 to 193 copulation attempts were recorded in each breeding pairs of Indian vulture. Maximum copulation attempts were observed in morning (6.00-8.00 and 8.00- 10.00 am) and evening (4.00-6.00pm) hours. Very few copulations attempts were observed afternoon (12.00 to 4.00 pm). Overall mean copulations attempts were highest recorded in month of October (10.4) followed by September (6.733), April (2.667), November (2.3), May (2.3), March (2.13) and lowest copulations attempts were recorded in June (1.9) or summer season. No copulation attempts were sighted during Dec – February month, the reason for this might be, because during these months Indian vultures usually spend time in incubation and pre hatchling cares. During study in study area before copulation aerial display behavior was completely absent in Indian vulture. Allopreening and self-preening activities were frequently sighted before and after copulations.&nbsp

A seven year experience in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for benign diseases in a single unit of tertiary care centre: a retrospective case study

Background: Thyroidectomy is a common surgical procedure performed worldwide by surgeons with varied training. It is the experience and the skills by which a surgeon performs, the indication of surgery and the extent of surgery which determines the outcome and the complication rates.Method: This study is a retrospective study performed from January 2012 to December 2018 when a total of 170 patients underwent total thyroidectomy via kocher’s incision for benign diseases with clinically in hypothyroid state at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi in a single unit of a tertiary care hospital.Results: The male: female ratio was 1:7.09 with average age of patients being 40years. The overall complication rate was 18.82% (32 patients). Postoperative transient hypocalcaemia being the most common complication. There was no case of permanent hypocalcaemia. There was no injury to any nerve (recurrent or superior laryngeal). Transient recurrent laryngeal paresis was noted in 4(2.35%) which resolved with conservative management. Complications like wound infection, sympathetic chain injury were not noted. The characteristic feature of this study was five cases of giant secondary retrosternal goitre which had average weight of greater than 500 grams which were operated using kocher’s incision. The average weight of other 165 patients was 70grams +/- 12 grams. There were no major post-operative complications except for post-operative recurrent laryngeal nerve paresis and seroma formation which was evacuated after 3 weeks of surgery.Conclusion: Hence, from this it is concluded that it is the surgical experience and skills of the surgeon which make total thyroidectomy a safe procedure providing permanent cure with a low post-operative morbidity risk even with large sized retrosternal thyroid glands which can be operated via neck incision

BUOYANCY AND CHEMICAL REACTION EFFECTS ON MHD FREE CONVECTIVE SLIP FLOW OF NEWTONIAN AND POLAR FLUID THROUGH POROUSMEDIUM IN THE PRESENCE OF THERMAL RADIATION AND OHMIC HEATING WITH DUFOUR EFFECT

The present paper investigates the effects of thermal radiation, joule heating on an unsteady hydro magnetic free convective flow of a viscous electrically conductive Newtonian and polar fluid past a semi-infinite vertical plate embedded in a porous media in the presence of heat absorption, chemical reaction, slip flow and Dufour effect. Analytical perturbation solutions are obtained for the velocity, temperature and concentration fields as well as for the skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number and Sharewood number. The results are presented in graphical forms to study the effects of various parameters

Rice subsector development and farmer efficiency in Nepal: implications for further transformation and food security

With economic development agricultural systems in the Global South transform from subsistence farming to higher productivity with market integration and increase in rural income and food security. In Nepal, agriculture continues to provide livelihoods for two-thirds of the predominantly rural population, largely at a subsistence-level. Rice is the staple food and covers the largest land area but yields are relatively low, with an annual import bill of USD 300 Million. The study uses data from 310 households from two distinct rice producing areas to assess farmers' rice production systems. It analyses farmers' rice production efficiency using a stochastic frontier production function to suggest how to advance the transformation of Nepal's rice sector. Our study finds that while agriculture related services such as access to inputs, information, markets, irrigation, and finance have generally improved, paddy farmers are only able to achieve 76% of potential output. Small/marginal farms were relatively less efficient than medium and large farms. Women farmers faced unequal access to technologies and have lower productivity than men. Unavailability of labor and capital, land fragmentation, and the lack of consistent access to seed and fertilizers contribute to reduced efficiency. Public and private sector investments are needed to enhance the timely and adequate access to quality seeds, fertilizers, processing facilities, and equipment services. Adopting a market systems approach through cooperative farming, targeted delivery of extension services, and linkages with rice millers can promote inclusive growth and improve rice food security in Nepal

Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Digital Language Archives: LangArc 2023

Article presenting an overview of the Bharatavani project, which focuses on recording socio-cultural and linguistic information about 121 Indian languages and making it accessible to a broader audience. It was presented at the 2nd International Workshop on Digital Language Archives held on June 30, 2023 as part of the ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries 2023

The "Investigating and translating genomic evidence for public health response to SARS-CoV-2 (INSIDE SARS-CoV-2)" project - Network of excellence. Commentary

The “Investigating and translating genomic evidence for public health response to SARS- CoV-2 (INSIDE SARS-CoV-2)” project is part of the initiative “Joint science and tech- nology cooperation call for joint project proposals for the years 2021-2023” promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Republic of India. To start the project activities, the pandemic response and the epidemiological situation in Italy and in India, together with the genomic surveillance strategies for SARS-CoV-2 virus in the two countries, are here described

Characterization of Structural Features Controlling the Receptiveness of Empty Class II MHC Molecules

MHC class II molecules (MHC II) play a pivotal role in the cell-surface presentation of antigens for surveillance by T cells. Antigen loading takes place inside the cell in endosomal compartments and loss of the peptide ligand rapidly leads to the formation of a non-receptive state of the MHC molecule. Non-receptiveness hinders the efficient loading of new antigens onto the empty MHC II. However, the mechanisms driving the formation of the peptide inaccessible state are not well understood. Here, a combined approach of experimental site-directed mutagenesis and computational modeling is used to reveal structural features underlying “non-receptiveness.” Molecular dynamics simulations of the human MHC II HLA-DR1 suggest a straightening of the α-helix of the β1 domain during the transition from the open to the non-receptive state. The movement is mostly confined to a hinge region conserved in all known MHC molecules. This shift causes a narrowing of the two helices flanking the binding site and results in a closure, which is further stabilized by the formation of a critical hydrogen bond between residues αQ9 and βN82. Mutagenesis experiments confirmed that replacement of either one of the two residues by alanine renders the protein highly susceptible. Notably, loading enhancement was also observed when the mutated MHC II molecules were expressed on the surface of fibroblast cells. Altogether, structural features underlying the non-receptive state of empty HLA-DR1 identified by theoretical means and experiments revealed highly conserved residues critically involved in the receptiveness of MHC II. The atomic details of rearrangements of the peptide-binding groove upon peptide loss provide insight into structure and dynamics of empty MHC II molecules and may foster rational approaches to interfere with non-receptiveness. Manipulation of peptide loading efficiency for improved peptide vaccination strategies could be one of the applications profiting from the structural knowledge provided by this study