Frugivory of Phyllanthus emblica at Rajaji National Park, northwest India

Phyllanthus emblica Linn. (Euphorbiaceae,syn Emblica officinalis Gærtn, vern. Amla, Nelli) is a 10–15 m tall tree, common in tropical deciduous forests of South Asia. It flowers during March–April and has an extended fruiting period from October to March. The fruit is globose (15–33 mm), greenish-yellow and drupaceous, encasing a hard stony endocarp that on drying dehisces to release six kidney-shaped seeds (4–6 mm; Figure 1). The P. emblica fruit, one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C1, is edible and is used in pickle, hair-oil and traditional medicine. It is among India’s most important non-timber forest produce (NTFP)

Usporedba lidokaina i kombinacije lidokaina i ketamina primijenjenih za distalnu intravensku regionalnu anesteziju (DIVRA) u goveda

The hoof diseases of cattle can be managed surgically under intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA). For routine induction of IVRA, a tourniquet is placed circumferentially at the metacarpus/metatarsus. In the present study, hoof diseases of cattle were corrected using a modified IVRA technique. The cattle with hoof ailments were randomly divided into two groups and a tourniquet was placed just distal to the dew claws instead of at the metacarpus/metatarsus in order to decrease the dose of anesthetic. In group I lidocaine (2mg/kg) and in group II a mixture of lidocaine and ketamine (2mg/kg+1.5mg/kg) was injected into the axial digital vein to induce distal intravenous regional anesthesia (DIVRA). The heart rate, respiration rate, systolic and diastolic pressure were unaffected in both groups. Oxygen saturation was significantly (P<0.05) lower between 5 and 60 minutes in group I and between 15 and 40 minutes in group II animals. The sensory and motor block onset time was shorter, and the sensory and motor block recovery time was longer in group II animals as compared to group I animals. It was concluded that the DIVRA technique using lidocaine alone and lidocaine admixed with ketamine are suitable for hoof examination and surgery.Bolesti papaka u goveda mogu se kirurški liječiti pod intravenskom regionalnom anestezijom (IVRA). Za rutinsko uvođenje u IVRA-u postavlja se kružno čvrsti zavoj na metakarpus/metatarzus. U ovom su istraživanju bolesti papaka u goveda liječene modificiranom IVRA metodom. Istražene životinje nasumično su podijeljene u dvije skupine a zavoj kojim se samnjuje doza anestetika postavljen je, umjesto na metakarpus/metatarzus, distalno od rudimentiranih papaka. U skupini I primijenjen je lidokain (2 mg/kg), a u skupini II kombinacija lidokaina i ketamina (2 mg/kg + 1,5 mg/kg). Za uvođenje u distalnu intravensku regionalnu anesteziju (DIVRA) anestetici su aplicirani u aksijalnu digitalnu venu. Srčana frekvencija, frekvencija disanja, sistolički i dijastolički tlak u obje su skupine bili nepromijenjeni. Zasićenost kisikom bila je znakovito niža (P<0,05) između 5. i 60. minute u skupini I te između 15. i 40. minute u skupini II. Vrijeme pojave senzornih i motoričkih blokova bilo je kraće, a vrijeme oporavka tih blokova dulje u životinja u skupini II u usporedbi sa skupinom I. Zaključeno je da je DIVRA, uz upotrebu i samog lidokaina i lidokaina u kombinaciji s ketaminom, prikladna metoda za pregled i obavljanje kiruških zahvata na papcima goveda

Effect of mixing paddy straw with molasses and urea on fermentation characteristics and nutritive value of maize silage

The present investigation was aimed at studying the improvement of fermentation and nutritive quality of rice straw-maize silage by the inclusion of different additives. In the experiment, paddy straw and green maize fodder were mixed in ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100 for silage preparation. These combinations were made in a triplicate and added with no additive (C), 2% urea (T1), 1% molasses (T2) and a mixture of 2% urea and 1% molasses (T3) in completely randomized design (CRD). The silages were harvested after 45 days and then analyzed for chemical composition, fermentation characteristics and anti-nutritional factors. Results revealed that dry matter (DM), acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), crude fibre (CF), ash and pH increased with an increase in the proportion of paddy straw in all combinations. Addition of 2% urea increased in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), crude protein (CP) and total gas production (TGP) of paddy straw and maize fodder silage. Urea treatment considerably reduced the oxalate content and increased the tannin content of paddy straw and maize fodder silage. In the present study, silage prepared by combining paddy straw and maize fodder in ratio of 25:75 had good aroma and fermentation characteristics which can be, therefore, utilized for effective silage making

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Ruminant-mediated Seed Dispersal of an Economically Valuable Tree in Indian Dry Forests

Ruminant-mediated seed dispersal, an understudied process in tropical forests, was examined via Phyllanthus emblica–Axis axis interaction. A captive Axis deer regurgitated intact P. emblica seeds after retaining them in the rumen for 7–27 h. At Rajaji National Park, a considerable fraction (22%) of deer-regurgitated P. emblica seeds germinated, although lower than unconsumed seeds (72%). The size and strength of seeds like P. emblica might ensure that ruminants regurgitate them intact instead of defecating them

Study on the Potential Toxicity of a Thymoquinone-Rich Fraction Nanoemulsion in Sprague Dawley Tats

Toxicological studies constitute an essential part of the effort in developing an herbal medicine into a drug product. A newly developed thymoquinone-rich fraction nanoemulsion (TQRFNE) has been prepared using a high pressure homogenizer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential acute toxicity of this nanoemulsion in Sprague Dawley rats. The acute toxicity studies were conducted as per the OECD guidelines 425, allowing for the use of test dose limit of 20 mL TQRFNE (containing 44.5 mg TQ)/kg. TQRFNE and distilled water (DW) as a control were administered orally to both sexes of rats on Day 0 and observed for 14 days. All the animals appeared normal, and healthy throughout the study. There was no observed mortality or any signs of toxicity during the experimental period. The effects of the TQRFNE and DW groups on general behavior, body weight, food and water consumption, relative organ weight, hematology, histopathology, and clinical biochemistry were measured. All the parameters measured were unaffected as compared to the control (DW) group. The administration of 20 mL TQRFNE /kg was not toxic after an acute exposure

Abstracts of National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020

This book presents the abstracts of the papers presented to the Online National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020 (RDMPMC-2020) held on 26th and 27th August 2020 organized by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Science in Association with the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. Conference Title: National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020Conference Acronym: RDMPMC-2020Conference Date: 26–27 August 2020Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizer: Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology JamshedpurCo-organizer: Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, IndiaConference Sponsor: TEQIP-