Technology for Improving Street Dog Welfare and Capturing Data in Digital Format during Street Dog Sterilisation Programmes

Street dogs survive on food handouts provided by individuals, or the wider community yet typically receive limited to no veterinary care. They can also carry a variety of zoonotic diseases such as rabies, posing a significant risk to human and dog population health. Dog sterilization is one of the most humane and effective methods available to control street dog populations. Dog sterilization programs, particularly those operating at a large-scale, often face a variety of challenges including limited resources, staffing, and less-than-ideal facilities. Record keeping is often a challenge as well, which can complicate the return of a sterilized dog to their location of capture. Street dogs are territorial, and the return of a dog to an incorrect location is fraught with various welfare issues, as well as an increased risk of postoperative complications, including death. Humane Society International developed a mobile phone-based application called ‘HSIApps’ drawing on years of field experience and data collection in street dog location recording, as well as clinical and postoperative treatment. HSIApps facilitates the return of dogs back to their exact captured location, which ensures dog welfare, and generates reports of a variety of useful data variables to maximize the efficacy and reliability of sterilization programs

A study on Epidemiology and Symptomatology and Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) in Pre-dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease patients

Introduction: Longitudinal studies have established that Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) occur more frequently and are the leading cause of death in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Dyslipidemia has been established as an important risk factor in the pathogenesis of CVD in CKD patients. Objectives: Present study was aimed to evaluate (in CKD patients), Demography along with Symptomatology and Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) in Pre-dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease patients (Study cases). Methods: Present Cross-sectional study, conducted in Department of Medicine, R.D. Gardi Medical College and CRG hospital, Ujjain, M.P. from 1 st January 2015 to 31st July 2016. We studied 115 pre-dialysis CKDcases and 100 age & sex matched controls. CKD was diagnosed as per 2012 KDOQI Criteria. Result: In CKD cases, maximum 23.47% cases belonged to fifth decade. Mean age was 48.99 ± 16.74. Male to Female ratio was1.21: 1. In the present study of 115 Study cases, pallor was present in ninety five (82.6%) cases, followed by facial puffiness in eighty eight (76.5%) cases, pedal oedema in eighty two (71.3%) cases and oliguria in eighty (69.5%) cases. Hypertension was evident in eighty seven (75.6%) cases. The mean Serum Creatinine, Urea, Total Protein, albumin, Potassium, Phosphorus value were increased in Study group as compared to control group. The mean Serum Calcium value was decreased in Study group as compared to control group

Role of endoscopic ultrasound in pediatric gastrointestinal diseases

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a well-established diagnostic and therapeutic modality for adults. It is extremely helpful for a broad range of diagnostic indications including upper gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, submucosal lesions, pancreatic lesions (masses, cystic lesions), chronic pancreatitis, etiological workup of recurrent acute pancreatitis, common bile duct evaluation (calculi versus tumor), gallbladder lesions/microliths, and rectal malignancy; well-established therapeutic roles include fine-needle aspiration of lesions/lymph nodes, pancreatic fluid collection drainage, pancreatic duct drainage, biliary drainage, gallbladder drainage, pelvic abscess drainage, celiac plexus block, or neurolysis. Some recent studies have reported the use of EUS in the pediatric population. EUS is safe and easy to perform in the pediatric population also. However, there is paucity of data on use of EUS in pediatric population. In contrast with its regular therapeutic use in adults, EUS is not commonly performed in children for therapeutic reasons and most of the data are available on diagnostic use only. All of studies have shown that EUS is safe and a useful modality with a positive impact on management in majority of study population. EUS is very useful in pediatric population for the evaluation of upper GI tract submucosal lesions or rectal masses, pancreaticobiliary disorders, characterization of esophageal strictures, and for evaluation of enteric duplication cysts. The advent of miniprobe that can be passed through conventional endoscopes has increased the applicability of EUS in infants and children. Although there are limited data regarding use of EUS in pediatric population, it appears to be a very promising diagnostic and therapeutic tool

A case of non-contiguous gastric and esophageal iatrogenic perforations managed by self-expanding metal stent placement

We describe a case of iatrogenic gastric perforation after sleeve gastrectomy procedure as bariatric surgery. Initially, a covered self-expanding metal stent placement (SEMS) was attempted outside, but it resulted in second iatrogenic perforation at lower esophagus. He improved gradually with drainage, antibiotics, and SEMS placement

Omniphobic membranes in membrane distillation for desalination applications: A mini-review

Membrane processes are extensively used to provide purified water from various saline water bodies. Membrane distillation (MD), one such membrane process, is mainly used for desalinating highly saline feed waters and to provide clean water. The design of robust membranes recently received considerable attention to address wetting, scaling, and fouling issues that hampered performance in long-term MD process. The current review discusses the omniphobic membranes employed in MD process for desalinating highly saline feedwaters containing diverse low surface tension substances. Also, it summarizes the basic concepts, fabrication and modification methods involved in designing omniphobic membranes. The developed omniphobic membranes have re-entrant structures and low surface energy which effectively provided anti-wetting and anti-fouling ability against saline feedwaters containing various low-surface tension substances. Further, the review focused on future research directions for developing omniphobic membranes for MD desalination applications

A case of abdominal pain and abnormal location of gallstone diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound

A 50‑year‑old male came to us with pain abdomen; endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) made a diagnosis of cholecystoduodenal fistula which was later on confirmed on gastroscopy and surgery. We present interesting images of EUS; a calculus is visualized outside gallbladder with inflammatory changes of duodenal wall

Sustainability in Rainfed Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Production Using Choice of Corn Variety and Nitrogen Scheduling

Interestingly more than 50% of the world’s area is rainfed and approximately 80% of maize is cultivated under rainfed condition where selection of cultivar and management of nitrogen have major impact on production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth, phenology, yield and quality parameters of maize as influenced by variety and nitrogen scheduling under rainfed condition. For this, a field experiment having two factors was laid out in a factorial randomised block design and replicated three times. The first factor was variety, i.e., V1 (JM 216) and V2 (JM 218), and the second was six nitrogen scheduling, i.e., N1 to N6, in which nitrogen splitting was done based on 30-years of average rainfall data. Variety JM 218 and N5 [40 kg N as basal followed by (fb) 2 splits of 40 kg N and 38.8 kg N at 30 and 52 days after sowing (DAS) and 1% N foliar spray at 40 DAS] nitrogen scheduling were found promising under rainfed situation because it recorded maximum value of growth parameters, yield attributes, grain yield and quality parameters (protein, mineral and dickson quality index). Thus, it can be inferred that JM 218 and N5 nitrogen schedule would be a better choice than alternative options

Identification of natural peptides from “PlantPepDB” database as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents: A protein-protein docking approach

Background: A global pandemic owing to COVID-19 infection has created havoc in the entire world. The etiological agent responsible for this viral outbreak is classified as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Still, there's no specific drug or preventive medication to treat SARS-CoV-2. This study was designed to demonstrate the efficacy of some anti-viral peptides obtained from a plant database i.e., PlantPepDB as potential ACE-2-Spike (S) protein complex neutralizers using a structure-based drug designing approach. Method: A total of 83 anti-viral plant peptides were screened from a peptide database i.e. PlantPepDB based on their reported anti-viral activities against various viral strains. In order to screen peptides that may potentially interfere with ACE-2 and S complex formation, molecular docking studies were conducted using the flare module of Cresset software and subsequently, analysed the crucial interactions between the peptides and S complexes and ACE-2/S complex. Herein, the interactions and docking scores obtained for ACE-2/S complex were considered as references. The S-peptides complexes which displayed superior interactions and docking scores than reference complex i.e., ACE2-S were considered as final hits. The Molecular dynamics studies were conducted for a period of 30 ns for each of the final hit/S complex to understand the interaction stability and binding mechanism of designed peptides. Results: The molecular docking results revealed that five peptides including Cycloviolacin Y3, Cycloviolacin Y1, White cloud bean defensin, Putative defensin 3.1, and Defensin D1 showed superior docking scores (i.e. -1372.5 kJ/mol to -1232.6 kJ/mol) when docked at the ACE2 binding site of S-protein than score obtained for the complex of ACE-2 and S protein i.e. -1183.4 kJ/mol. Moreover, these top five peptides manifested key interactions required to prevent the binding of S protein with ACE2. The molecular dynamics simulation study revealed that two of these five peptides i.e. Cycloviolacin Y3 and Cycloviolacin Y1 displayed minimal RMSD fluctuations. Conclusions: The current structure-based drug-designing approach shows the possible role of anti-viral plant peptides as potential molecules to be explored at the initial stage of viral pathogenesis

The Role of Agroforestry Systems in Enhancing Climate Resilience and Sustainability- A Review

Agroforestry, as the synergistic integration of woody perennials with crops and livestock systems, is posited along with a multi-functional land-use strategy with substantial implications for climate adaptation and mitigation. The article embarks on an analytical journey through historical paradigms, typologies such as silvo-pastoral and agro-silvicultural systems, and evaluates their contributions to enhancing soil health, water management, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and microclimate regulation. Distinctive case studies spanning diverse geographic regions including Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe and South America are scrutinized to elucidate how agroforestry initiatives can be contextually optimized for addressing region-specific environmental challenges and socio-economic needs. Sustainability aspects are dissected into economic, social, and environmental benefits, thereby constructing a holistic view of the multi-dimensional advantages of agroforestry systems. The review identifies significant research lacunae, anticipates technological innovations such as remote sensing and machine learning algorithms for data-driven management, and delineates strategies for scaling up best practices. Additionally, the article explores the impediments to widespread adoption, which encompass land tenure complications, economic viability, socio-cultural factors, and policy and regulatory constraints. In the review accentuates the need for an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach involving concerted efforts from researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders for the actualization of agroforestry's full potential in achieving global sustainability and climate resilience objectives

Response of Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices on Weed Flora, Crop Growth and Yield of Wheat in Maize-Wheat-Greengram Cropping System

Sustainable agriculture mostly relies on conservation tillage, crop residue retention and crop diversification. Weeds are major production hurdles in adoption of conservation agriculture (CA), therefore, weed management is important for sustainable crop yield. Designing efficient integrated weed management (IWM) practices under zero-tillage with crop residue (ZT+R) is helpful in getting optimum yield. A field experiment was carried out at research farm of ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur (M.P.), India with eight treatment combinations, two crop establishment methods (conventional tillage and conservation tillage) in main plots and four weed management practices (weedy check, recommended herbicide, IWM, and herbicide rotation) in sub-plots were evaluated using a split plot design with three replications. The results indicated&nbsp; that the wheat sown under ZT+R led to significantly less weed density (105.9 no. m-2 in 2020-21 and 122.8 no. m-2 in 2022-23) and biomass (149.7 and 174.2 g m-2, respectively) hence, registered the highest weed control efficiency (WCE, 72.3% and 71.2%, respectively). Higher WCE helped in producing better wheat growth indices like plant height (106.3 and 101.1 cm, respectively), biomass (12.0 and 9.0 g plant-1, respectively) and no. of tillers (488.0 and 391.3 no. m-2, respectively) ultimately grain yield (4164 and 3814 kg ha-1, respectively) and straw yield (7265 and 6834 kg ha-1, respectively) compared with conventional tillage during both the years. Among the weed management practices, ready-mix application of clodinafop + metsulfuron at 60+4 g ha-1 (30-35 days after sowing, DAS) followed by (fb) hand weeding at 45 DAS increased growth indices like plant height (110.2 and 105.0 cm, respectively), plant biomass (14.9 and 12.1 g plant-1, respectively) and no. of tillers (547.2 and 436.7 no. m-2, respectively) ultimately grain yield (4708 and 4299 kg ha-1, respectively) and straw yield (7836 and 7610 kg ha-1, respectively), and WCE (97.4% and 96.8% respectively) with significantly less weed density (25.7 and 35.0 no. m-2, respectively) and biomass (13.6 and 19.9 g m-2, respectively) at 90 days after sowing. IWM also completely reduces the weed density and biomass over the other weed management practices during both the years. Therefore, wheat sown under ZT+R coupled with IWM was superior in terms of weed control, crop growth and yields