MOSQUITO REPELLENT ACTION OF DURANTA PLUMIERI (VERBENACEAE) AGAINST CULEX QUINQUEFASCIATUS

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the repellent activity of different extracts of Duranta plumieri against mosquito vector Culex quinquefasciatus. Methods: Four different extracts (petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol, and aqueous) of D. plumieri were evaluated for repellency test against mosquito vector C. quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) in comparison with diethyltoluamide (DEET), which was used as a positive control. Results: Results showed that chloroform extract was the most effective against mosquito vector even at a low dose. A direct relationship was observed with different concentrations of D. plumieri extract and the repellent activity. Moreover, all the extracts showed highly significant level of repellency as compared to DEET at 10% dosage till 5 h of exposure. Among all of these, chloroform extract showed significant repellency at 5% dosage till 4 h. Conclusion: Chloroform extract of D. plumieri has the potential as an effective mosquito repellent and further studies are needed to isolate the marker compound responsible for this activity

The Basins of Convergence in the Planar Restricted Four-body Problem with Variable Mass

We have studied the existence, location and stability of the libration points in the model of restricted four-body problem (R4BP) with variable mass. It is assumed that three primaries, one dominant primary and the other two with equal masses, are always forming an equilateral triangle. We have determined the equations of motion of the above mentioned problem for the fourth body which is an infinitesimal mass. The libration points have been determined numerically for different values of the parameters considered. It is found that there are eight or ten libration points out of which six are non-collinear and two or four are collinear depending upon the values of mass parameter and the constant of proportionality occurring in Jeans’ law. The regions of motion of the infinitesimal mass have been drawn and investigated. We have also examined the stability of each libration point and found that all the libration points are unstable. Further, the Newton-Raphson basins of attraction are drawn for different set of parameters used

PHYTOCHEMICAL EVALUATION AND PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF SYZYGIUM AROMATICUM: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Medicinal plants are generating an ever-increasing amount of interest due to the effectiveness, low cost and minimal side-effects associated with drugs derived from them. Clove (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) (Family Myrtaceae) is one of the most important herbs in traditional medicine, having a wide spectrum of biological activity. Phytoconstituents of clove comprise of various classes and groups of chemical compounds such as monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, phenolics and hydrocarbon compounds. The major phytochemicals found in clove oil is mainly eugenol (70-85%) followed by eugenyl acetate (15%) and β-caryophyllene (5–12%). Their derivatives result in biological benefits such as antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic capacities. In addition to clove oil's worldwide use as a food flavoring agent, it has also been employed for centuries as a topical analgesic in dentistry. This review presents an overview and details of the phytochemical and pharmacological investigations on the S. aromaticum

Acquired heart block: A possible complication of patent ductus arteriosus in a preterm infant

A large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a frequently encountered clinical problem in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. It leads to an increased pulmonary blood flow and in a decreased or reversed diastolic flow in the systemic circulation, resulting in complications. Here we report a possible complication of PDA not previously published. On day 8 of life, a male ELBW infant (birth weight 650 g) born at a gestational age of 23 weeks and 3 days developed an atrioventricular block (AV block). The heart rate dropped from 168/min to 90/min, and the ECG showed a Wenckebach second-degree AV block and intraventricular conduction disturbances. Echocardiography demonstrated a PDA with a large left-to-right shunt and large left atrium and left ventricle with high contractility. Within several minutes after surgical closure of the PDA, the heart rate increased, and after 30 min the AV block had improved to a 1: 1 conduction ratio. Echocardiography after 2 h revealed a significant decrease of the left ventricular and atrial dimensions. Within 12 h, the AV block completely reversed together with the intraventricular conduction disturbances. We suggest that PDA with a large left-to-right shunt and left ventricular volume overload may lead to an AV block in an ELBW infant. Surgical closure of the PDA may be indicated. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Yersinia enterocolitica Targets Cells of the Innate and Adaptive Immune System by Injection of Yops in a Mouse Infection Model

Yersinia enterocolitica (Ye) evades the immune system of the host by injection of Yersinia outer proteins (Yops) via a type three secretion system into host cells. In this study, a reporter system comprising a YopE-β-lactamase hybrid protein and a fluorescent staining sensitive to β-lactamase cleavage was used to track Yop injection in cell culture and in an experimental Ye mouse infection model. Experiments with GD25, GD25-β1A, and HeLa cells demonstrated that β1-integrins and RhoGTPases play a role for Yop injection. As demonstrated by infection of splenocyte suspensions in vitro, injection of Yops appears to occur randomly into all types of leukocytes. In contrast, upon infection of mice, Yop injection was detected in 13% of F4/80+, 11% of CD11c+, 7% of CD49b+, 5% of Gr1+ cells, 2.3% of CD19+, and 2.6% of CD3+ cells. Taking the different abundance of these cell types in the spleen into account, the highest total number of Yop-injected cells represents B cells, particularly CD19+CD21+CD23+ follicular B cells, followed by neutrophils, dendritic cells, and macrophages, suggesting a distinct cellular tropism of Ye. Yop-injected B cells displayed a significantly increased expression of CD69 compared to non-Yop-injected B cells, indicating activation of these cells by Ye. Infection of IFN-γR (receptor)- and TNFRp55-deficient mice resulted in increased numbers of Yop-injected spleen cells for yet unknown reasons. The YopE-β-lactamase hybrid protein reporter system provides new insights into the modulation of host cell and immune responses by Ye Yops

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio