NUMERICAL RESPONSE OF LIPOLEXIS OREGMAE (HYMENOPTERA : APHIDIINAE) AGAINST APHIS CRACCIVORA (HEMIPTERA : APHIDIDAE)

The performance of the parasitoids is usually evaluated by studying its life-table which involves the statistics of birth and death rate illustrating the condition of the biological community. The study of numerical response provides the data for the calculating the number of parasitoid needed to regulate the pest population. Thus, parasitoid density also influences the lifetable statistics of the parasitoids especially net fecundity, total fecundity, progeny sex ratio etc. Lipolexis oregmae is very common parasitoid and found abundantly in several districts of Bihar (India). Few aspects of biological and ecological studies were made by few workers. We need more information about it especially in a relation to the future production. Aphis craccivora (cowpea aphids) is a sporadic pest in Bihar and abundantly found in all localities. This aphid has an extensive host range, hence the performance of the parasitoids at different density on three host plants Lablab purpureus (=Dolichos lablab), Phaseolus sinensis and Vicia faba on A. craccivora was investigated. At six parasitoid, the maximum fecundity of L. oregmae was recorded on V. faba (64.20 ± 6.85) and minimum on P. sinensis ( 53.20 ± 4.65)

NUMERICAL RESPONSE OF LIPOLEXIS OREGMAE (HYMENOPTERA : APHIDIINAE) AGAINST APHIS CRACCIVORA (HEMIPTERA : APHIDIDAE)

The performance of the parasitoids is usually evaluated by studying its life-table which involves the statistics of birth and death rate illustrating the condition of the biological community. The study of numerical response provides the data for the calculating the number of parasitoid needed to regulate the pest population. Thus, parasitoid density also influences the lifetable statistics of the parasitoids especially net fecundity, total fecundity, progeny sex ratio etc. Lipolexis oregmae is very common parasitoid and found abundantly in several districts of Bihar (India). Few aspects of biological and ecological studies were made by few workers. We need more information about it especially in a relation to the future production. Aphis craccivora (cowpea aphids) is a sporadic pest in Bihar and abundantly found in all localities. This aphid has an extensive host range, hence the performance of the parasitoids at different density on three host plants Lablab purpureus (=Dolichos lablab), Phaseolus sinensis and Vicia faba on A. craccivora was investigated. At six parasitoid, the maximum fecundity of L. oregmae was recorded on V. faba (64.20 ± 6.85) and minimum on P. sinensis ( 53.20 ± 4.65)

Recent Advances in Environment-Friendly Alkyd Nanocomposites Towards “Greener” Coatings

Alkyd nanocomposites have attracted great attention in the field of heavy duty coating materials. This is due to the synergistic action of both alkyds (flexibility, biodegradability, compatibility, good gloss retention, durability, weathering resistance) and nanofillers (large surface area to volume ratio). Alkyd nanocomposites show good physico-mechanical, physico-chemical, anticorrosive, and antimicrobial performances and thermal stability, with application as anticorrosive, anti-fog, self-cleaning, self-healing, and antimicrobial coatings. In view of present drives and legislations towards environment-friendly coatings, alkyds have undergone modifications as waterborne, high solids, hyperbranched “greener” nanocomposites. The present chapter deals with a brief overview of alkyds, recent advances in environment-friendly alkyd nanocomposite coatings, and the effects of nanofillers on the performance (physico-mechanical, chemical/corrosion resistance, thermal stability, and others) of “greener” alkyd nanocomposite coatings

Interaction of Myzus spp. (Hemiptera: Aphididae) with their Food Plants, Parasitoids and Predators in Northeast Bihar

The article examines the association of aphids along with their food plants, parasitoids and predators in varying ecological conditions for the possible use in biological control programs. Aphids are small, sap-sucking insects and they are considered an important pest of agricultural and horticultural plants due to sucking of vital nutrients and transmitting viral diseases. During the survey, 41 species of aphids were recorded on 122 plant species in northeast Bihar. Three species of Myzus viz., M. ascalonicus, M. persicae and M. variants were recorded.  M. persicae was recorded on 36 food plants from December to April but its peak population was observed during February and March. Five species of parasitoids (Aphelinus albipodus, Aphelinus gossypii, Aphidius colemani, Binodoxys indicus, Diaeretiella rapae, Lipolexis oregmae), five species of coccinellid predators (Cheilomenes sexmaculata, Coccinella septempunctata, Coccinella transversalis, Micraspis discolor, Scymnus pyrocheilus) and three species of syrphid predators (Dideopsis aegrota, Ischiodon scutellaris, Melanostoma orientale) were recorded on M. persicae. Among these, three parasitoids (B. indicus, L. oregmae, A. gossypii), four coccinellids predators (C. sexmaculata, C. septempunctata, C. transversalis, S. pyrocheilus) and two syrphid predators (D. aegrota, I. scutellaris) were observed abundantly in all localities with a high rate of parasitization/predation on M. persicae

BIO-ECOLOGICAL STUDY OF FEW SPECIES OF APHIS LINN. IN NORTHEAST BIHAR AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH FOOD PLANTS AND NATURAL ENEMIES FOR POSSIBLE USE IN THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

Aphids are small, soft bodied, polyphagic and polymorphic sap sucking insects. During the extensive survey of different localities of 10 districts of northeast Bihar in different seasons, 41 species of aphids were recorded on more than 122 plant species belong to 35 families. Among these, only 09 species of Aphis viz., Aphis affinis Del Guercio, Aphis craccivora Koch, Aphis fabae Scopoli, Aphis glycine Matsumura, Aphis gossypii Glover, Aphis nasturtii Kaltenbach, Aphis nerii Boyer de Fonscolombe, Aphis puniceae Passerini and Aphis spiraecola Patch were recorded in the target area. The maximum number of plants were infested by A. gossypii (46 plants), followed by A. craccivora (36 plants), A. nasturtii (18 plants) and A. spiraecola (18 plants). Six species of coccinellids (Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius), Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, Coccinella transversalis Fabricius, Micraspis discolor (Fabricius), Pseudospidimerus circumflexa var. testaceus (Weise) and Scymnus pyrocheilus (Mulsant) and six species of syrphid predators (Allograpta javana (Wiedemann), Asarkina ericetorum (Fabricius), Episyrphus balteatus (DeGeer), Ischiodon scutellaris (Fabricius), Melanostoma orientale (Wiedemann) and Paragus serratus (Fabricius)) were recorded on Aphis spp. in the target area. Seven species of parasitoids viz, Aphelinus albipodus Fatima & Hayat, Aphelinus basilicas Fatima & Hayat, Aphelinus gossypii Timberlake, Aphelinus sp., Aphidius sp., Binodoxys indicus Subba Rao & Sharma and Lipolexis oregmae (=scutellaris) (Gahan) were also recorded on Aphis spp. in the target area. Six species of predators (C. sexmaculata, C. septempunctata, C. transversalis, E. balteatus, I. scutellaris and P. serratus) and three species of the parasitoids (A. gossypii, B. indicus and L. oregmae) were found abundantly on Aphis spp. in the target area and may be utilised in the biological control programme after further stud

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Use of UGC-Infonet Consortia by the Research Scholars at University of Delhi: A Survey

Introduction A Consortium could be described as a group of organizations who come together to fulfill a combined objective that usefully requires co-operation and sharing of resources. And need to have a clear mutual goal in order to ensure their success. A library Consortium formation can be local, regional, state, national and inter institutional level. According to Webster\u27s 3rd new International Dictionary, Library consortia is an agreement, combination, or group formed to undertake and enterprise beyond the resources of anyone member (Merriam Webster online dictionary. 2008) Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science (ODLIS) defines Library Consortia as an association of independent Libraries and/or Library systems established by formal agreement, usually for the purpose of sharing . Membership may be restricted to a specific geographical region, type of Library (Public, Academic, and Special) or subject specialization .(ODLIS-Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science) Consortium is the term, which has many meaning. In the beginning libraries work in the field of collection development and resource sharing in the widest sense of word. Later on cooperative cataloguing system were as consortia. As purchasing association in the network environment the term Consortia is now widely used. Review of Literature The study of related research implies locating, reading and evaluating research reports. The survey of the literature is a crucial aspect for planning of the body of research. The investigators reviewed only those studies which are related to the present study. It was revealed that majority of the users are aware about the availability of online journals. And majority of respondent indicated that they make use of online journals for their research work. It was also found that users faced problems while using online journals. A need was also felt by some research scholars regarding inclusion of some more e- journals in UGC-Infonet Consortium (Zaidi and Bharati, 2008). The users faced problem while accessing e-consortium and lack of awareness of e-resources available. It was suggested that a training programme should be conducted regularly to improve the usage of e-journal consortium. (Gupta and Rawtani, 2008) There is a need of conducting regular orientation/training programme for the UGC Infonet programme; more number of e-journals to be included in the UGC Infonet consortium (Veenapani, Singh and Devi, 2008).A high proportion of teaching and research staff are aware of the collection of electronic journals and there is an increasing preference for the electronic information sources to the detriment of the printed format. The collection of electronic journals is highly valued and most users expect to increase their use during the next few years. The results also confirm the importance of discipline and age as explanatory factors of the use of electronic journals (Borrego et. al., 2007). In a study under the title Preserving perpetual access to electronic journals: A Korean consortial approach This study describes the key findings of the Korean Electronic Site License Initiative (KESLI), established by the National Digital Science Library to develop a digital archive of electronic journals in Korea. Research and relevant activities included developing system architecture, suggesting journal selection criteria and publisher selection criteria, choosing a set of metadata elements, and addressing stakeholders\u27 concerns. Recommendations for further tasks have been made in order to have the system fully operating by December 2007 (Choia and Parkb, 2007). A study observes that electronic journals continue to usually be the format of choice for institutional serials subscriptions. However, in developing countries this is not always the case, due to access and connectivity issues. He found that insufficient administrative infrastructure and resources were the major contributing factors and reasons why harnessing of e-journals is not more ubiquitous and common in Nigeria. The paper offers some useful suggestions on how to tackle these problems through constant training of users on the use of internet, networking all libraries\u27 computer terminals, provides stand-by generator, and put in place a technical-oriented manpower. Finally, there is a need to overhaul the telecommunication industry so as to get a better result in term of Information Technology development in the developing countries (Ajegbomogun, 2007). Authors discuss the concern over the archival of electronic journals such as unprecedented pace of technological developments, hardware and software updates. Copyright issues and mergers cessation and stoppages of publishing industries. The successful operation of library consortium clearly depends upon a number of things such as good working relationship among the members and consortium headquarter clear policies and priorities, attempts to address the issue and concern etc. However, the consortia initiatives in India are not popular and the trends are slowly catching up among the professional community. Now libraries recognized that they can accomplish more by working together than they can individually (Bavakutty and Azeez, 2006). The libraries and information centers with their static financial allocations have to consider new ways to consolidate global resources amongst them in order to maximize their limited financial resources. Fortunately, availability of powerful computers at affordable cost, speed of telecommunication networks to remote areas, advent of internet, increasing interest in creating digital contents etc, are now helping the library and information professionals to give answer to the challenges occurring due to the explosion of information and knowledge, increasing cost of library materials, changing format of reading materials, shrinking library budget and increasing demand of the users for information and knowledge. Keeping in view of these factors, he discusses the concept of resource sharing and the role of library consortia as an effective collaborative approach to face challenges of modern librarianship (Bhatt, 2006)

Information seeking behaviour of the students at Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Aligarh Muslim University: a survey

141-144Study of data collected from 60 students by administering questionnaires on their information seeking behaviour at Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, AMU, indicates that guidance in the use of library resources and services is necessary to help students meet their information requirements. Finds that textbooks and journals are the most popular sources of information for the students’ course work

Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Molecular Perspectives

Multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis seriously threaten tuberculosis (TB) control and prevention efforts. Molecular studies of the mechanism of action of antitubercular drugs have elucidated the genetic basis of drug resistance in M. tuberculosis. Drug resistance in M. tuberculosis is attributed primarily to the accumulation of mutations in the drug target genes; these mutations lead either to an altered target (e.g., RNA polymerase and catalase-peroxidase in rifampicin and isoniazid resistance, respectively) or to a change in titration of the drug (e.g., InhA in isoniazid resistance). Development of specific mechanism–based inhibitors and techniques to rapidly detect multidrug resistance will require further studies addressing the drug and drug-target interaction