Observations on a Wild King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), with Emphasis on Foraging and Diet

Since 2005, we have conducted research on King Cobras (Ophiophagus hannah) in the forests and plantations surrounding Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) located in the Western Ghats of southern India. In March 2008, we started a radiotelemetry project and to date we have tracked four adult King Cobras (three males, one female) for varying periods. Although we have documented a number of interesting facets of King Cobra biology, this note is confined to observations made on a single male (M2) from June- November 2009. During this time, we observed M2 capturing and consuming 26 pit vipers (two Hump-nosed Pit Vipers, Hypnale hynale, and 24 Malabar Pit Vipers, Trimeresurus malabaricus). We provide details of these remarkable observations, and briefly discuss them in the context of our ongoing efforts to understand and conserve these charismatic serpents

Observations on a Wild King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), with Emphasis on Foraging and Diet

Since 2005, we have conducted research on King Cobras (Ophiophagus hannah) in the forests and plantations surrounding Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) located in the Western Ghats of southern India. In March 2008, we started a radiotelemetry project and to date we have tracked four adult King Cobras (three males, one female) for varying periods. Although we have documented a number of interesting facets of King Cobra biology, this note is confined to observations made on a single male (M2) from June- November 2009. During this time, we observed M2 capturing and consuming 26 pit vipers (two Hump-nosed Pit Vipers, Hypnale hynale, and 24 Malabar Pit Vipers, Trimeresurus malabaricus). We provide details of these remarkable observations, and briefly discuss them in the context of our ongoing efforts to understand and conserve these charismatic serpents

Role of RBC Parameters to Differentiate between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Anemia of Chronic Diseases

Introduction: In the present study we evaluated and compared RBC parameters, iron status, and ferritin for discriminating between patients with iron deficiency anemia and anemia of chronic disease. Anemia that accompanies infection, inflammation, and cancer, is commonly termed anemia of chronic disease (ACD). Methods: We compared the ability of serum ferritin concentration, using the microplate immunoenzymometric assay method with other, more traditional indicators of iron status like total iron binding capacity [TIBC], mean corpuscular volume [MCV], percent transferrin saturation [%TS], RBC distribution width [RDW], and serum iron concentration [SIC]. The ferritin concentration was determined in 80 serum samples selected from men and women above the age of 18 years. The patients were assigned to IDA and ACD groups based on serum ferritin concentration.Observation: By studying the ROC Curve for various red cell parameters for the diagnosis of IDA and ACD, we found that diagnostic accuracy of various indicators was as follows TIBC>TS%>MCV>MCH>SI>MCHC for anemia of chronic diseases, and TIBC>MCH>MCV>MCHC>TS%>SI for iron deficiency anemia. When both the value of AUCs (Area under Curve) of ROC were compared it is apparent that TIBC, TS%, MCV, and MCH are important discriminating factors between IDA and ACD. Conclusion: Conventional laboratory parameters play an important role in distinguishing overt causes of IDA and ACD. MCV, MCH, and TIBC were found to be (p -value < .05) significantly discriminated against IDA and ACD. Serum ferritin is an important diagnostic tool with reasonable accuracy for the detection and differentiation of iron deficiency anemia and anemia of chronic disease

High Quality Al2O3 Dielectric Films Deposited by Pulsed-DC Reactive Sputtering Technique for High-k Applications

This paper presents high quality high-k Al2O3 dielectric films deposited by reactive sputtering technique with pulsed-DC (p-DC) power supply source. Process parameters are optimized to obtain Al2O3 dielectric film with high effective breakdown field (E-BD) of 18.07 MV/cm and dielectric constant (k) of 8.15 with an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of 8.59 nm, suitable for inter-poly dielectric (IPD) of floating gate flash memory applications. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement is performed for films deposited with different gas flow ratios and it is observed that the film stoichiometry can be changed by varying the gas flow ratio. A low surface roughness of 3.2 angstrom is observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement on these films. Al2O3 films deposited at high power are found to be interesting for surface passivation of p-type silicon for solar cell applications

Thioacids Mediated Selective and Mild N‑Acylation of Amines

N-Acylated amines are ubiquitous in nature. Selective N-acylation at neutral conditions remains a key area of interest. Here we are reporting the copper sulfate-mediated highly selective, mild, and rapid N-acylation of various aliphatic and aromatic amines using thioacids in methanol at neutral conditions. All N-acylated products of primary and secondary amines were isolated in good to excellent yields. This method is found to be highly selective for the amines and not sensitive to other functional groups such as phenols, alcohols, and thiols. The simple workup, high yields, and high selectivity of this reaction can be an attractive alternative to those of the existing acyl halide- and acid anhydride-mediated N-acylation reactions

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Not AvailableA study was conducted to find out the effect of thermal stress on the physiological as well as reproductive performances of broiler breeder hens. The birds were exposed to 37±1°C and RH 70% for 6 hours daily for a period of 10 days in the psychrometric chamber (THI >90). In the heat exposed group, body weight gain and feed intake (P90 for at least 6hrs/day can impart serious damage to various physiological and reproductive performances in broiler breeder hens.Not Availabl

Determination of the Terbium-152 half-life from mass-separated samples from CERN-ISOLDE and assessment of the radionuclide purity

Terbium-152 is one of four terbium radioisotopes that together form a potential theranostic toolbox for the personalised treatment of tumours. As 152 Tb decay by positron emission it can be utilised for diagnostics by positron emission tomography. For use in radiopharmaceuticals and for activity measurements by an activity calibrator a high radionuclide purity of the material and an accurate and precise knowledge of the half-life is required. Mass-separation and radiochemical purification provide a production route of high purity 152Tb. In the current work, two mass-separated samples from the CERN-ISOLDE facility have been assayed at the National Physical Laboratory to investigate the radionuclide purity. These samples have been used to perform four measurements of the half-life by three independent techniques: high-purity germanium gamma-ray spectrometry, ionisation chamber measurements and liquid scintillation counting. From the four measurement campaigns a half-life of 17.8784(95) h has been determined. The reported half-life shows a significant difference to the currently evaluated half-life (ζ-score = 3.77), with a relative difference of 2.2 % and an order of magnitude improvement in the precision. This work also shows that under controlled conditions the combination of mass-separation and radiochemical separation can provide high-purity 152Tb. •First half-life measurement of 152Tb since 1970.•Precise half-life of 152Tb determined by three independent techniques from mass-separated samples.•Presented half-life value shows a relative difference of 2.2% from current evaluated value.•Order of magnitude improvement in the precision to the current evaluated value.•Radionuclide contaminants from two mass-separated samples assessed