Insect species diversity in Tropics: sampling methods and a case study

The tropical regions of the world generally have a richer store of biological diversity than other regions of the globe. But most tropical habitats face a significant threat of destruction. Yet, little is known about tropical biotic communities. Suspecting that at least part of the reason for the poor documentation of tropical insect communities is the lack of appropriate research methodology, we have endeavoured to standardize a package of methods for quantitative sampling of insects, suitable for tropical ecologists with modest research budgets. This methodology includes the use of a small light trap as well as net sweeps, pitfall traps and scented traps. The methods have been used to sample insect species diversity patterns in three replicate one hectare plots each in twelve selected sites in the Uttara Kannada district of Kamataka, India. During this case study, we have encountered 16,852 adult individuals belooging to 1,789 species. 219 families and 19 orders of insects. Here, we provide evidence that this methodology is adequate for sampling insects and differentiating habitats on the basis of the distribution of insect species. Some interesting biological problems that tropical ecologists can study with the data generated from the application of these methods are also briefIy illustrated

Foraging strategies in the ants Myrmicaria brunnea and Diacamma ceylonense- some preliminary observations

Myrmicaria brunnea forager communicates by means of chemical and/or acoustic signals so that other foragers present nearby can move towards it and find the bait sooner than they would on their own. However, this sort of communication seem to have not been present in Diacamma sp. foragers

Role Of Peptidylarginine Deiminase 2 (Pad2) In Epithelial Carcinogenesis And Tumor-Associated Inflammation

Numerous recent studies have shown that epigenetic modifications play a significant role in cancer pathogenesis. The PADs are a family of epigenetic enzymes that catalyze citrullination, a reaction by which PADs convert peptidyl-arginine to neutral citrulline, leading to the disruption of protein-protein interactions. Our lab has found that PAD2 has a critical role in breast cancer progression. The goal of this thesis research was to further elucidate the role of PAD2 in epithelial carcinogenesis using PAD2 overexpression tumor cell lines and a MMTV-FLAG-hPAD2 transgenic mouse model. We also aimed to evaluate how PAD2 may play a direct role in regulating chronic inflammation via macrophage extracellular chromatin trap release ("ETosis"). Interestingly, we found that 40% of the MMTV-FLAG-hPAD2 overexpressing transgenic mice developed proliferative skin lesions after five months of age. The tumors expressed the transgenic form of FLAG-hPAD2 and showed increased expression for inflammatory cytokines such as IL6 and IL8. As the next step we conducted a two-stage chemical carcinogenesis study to further evaluate the predilection of MMTV-FLAG-hPAD2 mice to develop more invasive skin tumors and compare the histopathology of these tumors with the WT tumors. We found that a higher percentage of MMTV-FLAG-hPAD2 mice developed skin papillomas and the transgenic tumors were more invasive. Furthermore, hPAD2 expression levels were highly positively correlated with chemokine levels and negatively correlated with the cell adhesion markers suggesting the role of PAD2 in assisting epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We had previously shown that PAD4 isozyme in neutrophils is involved in chromatin decondensation and extracellular chromatin trap release. In this thesis research we provide evidence on how PAD2 is involved in macrophage extracellular trap (MET) release. Using in vitro macrophage culture models, we found that PAD2 is critical in functional MET release and that METs contain high levels of histone H4 citrulline 3 (H4Cit3) modification. Using human tongue SCC tissue, we show that CD68+ macrophage associated ETs exist in tumor tissue and are highly positive for citrullinated histones. Additionally, we show that PAD2-rich macrophages associated with chronic subclinical inflammation in adipose tissue also release METs suggesting the significant role of PAD2 in chronic inflammation via MET release. Collectively, these studies provide strong experimental evidence establishing PAD2 as a potential oncogene, a therapeutic target for immunomodulation and a regulator of obesity and tumor associated inflammation

Ant species richness and diversity in some selected localities of Western Ghats

We have sampled ants from twelve different localities in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India using both a package of standardized trapping methods as well as by intensive all-out-search. The relative efficacies of trapping versus all-out-search are compared. Different methods of trapping are also compared among themselves. A check list of all ants seen by all methods put together, identified up to the genus level is provided. Different localities are compared by the similarity and diversity 'of their ant fauna. A weak but statistically significant positive correlation between ant species diversity. and plant species diversity is demonstrated. This report provides the first estimates of the diversity and abundance of ants for any forest habitat of India

Ant species richness at selected localities of Bangalore

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Correlation between gamma analysis for midline and lateralized tumors by using volumetric modulated arc therapy

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fluence for midline and lateralized tumors for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) by using a two-dimensional array.Methods: For this study, we selected 60 patients who were undergoing VMAT. The octavius phantom was computed tomography (CT) scanned and imported to the planning system. Verification plans were created for each plan and exported. The measurements were performed using 2D seven29 ion chamber array. Fluence measurement values for all the delivered plans were analyzed using VeriSoft software. The TPS calculated values were then compared with the measured gamma values. Results: The gamma pass percentage for midline tumors was found to be higher than that for lateralized tumors. The standard deviations between the gamma values for midline and lateralized tumors were 1.96 and 2.86, respectively. Moreover, the standard deviations between the point doses for midline and lateralized tumors were 0.360 and 0.283, respectively. The mean gamma passing rate was 96.96% for midline tumors and 96.57% for lateralized tumors for 3%DD/3-mm criteria. There is no significance found in the gamma values for midline and lateralized tumors with p-value 0.08. Conclusion: No particular correlation was found between the gamma pass percentage for midline tumors and that for lateralized tumors. Only a marginal difference was found in the gamma pass percentage

WHO preferred product characteristics for monoclonal antibodies for passive immunization against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in infants - Key considerations for global use.

World Health Organization (WHO) preferred product characteristics describe preferences for product attributes that would help optimize value and use to address global public health needs, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. Having previously published preferred product characteristics for both maternal and paediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, WHO recently published preferred product characteristics for monoclonal antibodies to prevent severe RSV disease in infants. This article summarizes the key attributes from the preferred product characteristics and discusses key considerations for future access and use of preventive RSV monoclonal antibodies