Modeling highly pathogenic avian influenza transmission in wild birds and poultry in West Bengal, India.

Wild birds are suspected to have played a role in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreaks in West Bengal. Cluster analysis showed that H5N1 was introduced in West Bengal at least 3 times between 2008 and 2010. We simulated the introduction of H5N1 by wild birds and their contact with poultry through a stochastic continuous-time mathematical model. Results showed that reducing contact between wild birds and domestic poultry, and increasing the culling rate of infected domestic poultry communities will reduce the probability of outbreaks. Poultry communities that shared habitat with wild birds or those indistricts with previous outbreaks were more likely to suffer an outbreak. These results indicate that wild birds can introduce HPAI to domestic poultry and that limiting their contact at shared habitats together with swift culling of infected domestic poultry can greatly reduce the likelihood of HPAI outbreaks

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles an Overview and Applications

A drone that is not manned Automated vehicles are rational admirers of the latest planes, and they\u27re always looking for ways to improve. Wartime and re-exploration capabilities are the primary emphases of the current generation of UAVs, leaving the existing market impacted by UAV technology unaffected. UAV technology has a wide range of current uses, ranging from emergency response to media to agriculture to communications experts. However, the adaptable unmanned aerial vehicle is not yet available to the general public. As a result, a UAV that can carry a wide range of flexible tools should be light and lightweight. In commercial applications, UAV technological ideas and adaptable components may be a strong instrument, and they can help define the future of aviation. It is possible to categorize drones depending on their applications, such as photography, aerial mapping, surveillance, and so on. However, the easiest way to classify \u27Drones\u27 is to use aerial platforms. Drones may be classified into four broad categories based on the sort of airborne platform they employ

Comparison of Small Gut and Whole Gut Microbiota of First-Degree Relatives With Adult Celiac Disease Patients and Controls

Recent studies on celiac disease (CeD) have reported alterations in the gut microbiome. Whether this alteration in the microbial community is the cause or effect of the disease is not well understood, especially in adult onset of disease. The first-degree relatives (FDRs) of CeD patients may provide an opportunity to study gut microbiome in pre-disease state as FDRs are genetically susceptible to CeD. By using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we observed that ecosystem level diversity measures were not significantly different between the disease condition (CeD), pre-disease (FDR) and control subjects. However, differences were observed at the level of amplicon sequence variant (ASV), suggesting alterations in specific ASVs between pre-disease and diseased condition. Duodenal biopsies showed higher differences in ASVs compared to fecal samples indicating larger disruption of the microbiota at the disease site. The duodenal microbiota of FDR was characterized by significant abundance of ASVs belonging to Parvimonas, Granulicatella, Gemella, Bifidobacterium, Anaerostipes, and Actinomyces genera. The duodenal microbiota of CeD was characterized by higher abundance of ASVs from genera Megasphaera and Helicobacter compared to the FDR microbiota. The CeD and FDR fecal microbiota had reduced abundance of ASVs classified as Akkermansia and Dorea when compared to control group microbiota. In addition, predicted functional metagenome showed reduced ability of gluten degradation by CeD fecal microbiota in comparison to FDRs and controls. The findings of the present study demonstrate differences in ASVs and predicts reduced ability of CeD fecal microbiota to degrade gluten compared to the FDR fecal microbiota. Further research is required to investigate the strain level and active functional profiles of FDR and CeD microbiota to better understand the role of gut microbiome in pathophysiology of CeD

Tick infestation on wild snakes in northern part of western Ghats of India.

In total, 167 individuals of 30 species of snakes belonging to 22 genera and five families were examined for tick infestation from November 2008 to March 2010. Only two species of snakes, Ptyas mucosa (L., 1758) (Indian rat snake) and Naja naja (L., 1758) (spectacled cobra), were found infested by ticks. All ticks collected were identified to be Amblyomma gervaisi [previously Aponomma gervaisi (Lucas, 1847) 1. The average prevalence of these ticks on Indian rat snakes (n=48) was 29.16%, with abundance of 7.02 ticks per individual; on spectacled cobras (n=20), average prevalence was 30.00%, with abundance of 6.9 ticks per individual. The nymphs and males were predominant. All the ticks were found on the dorsal aspect of the body of the snake, and no ticks were recorded on the head, tail, or ventral body. The rate of tick infestation was highest in scrubland and was lowest in evergreen forests. Female Indian rat snakes showed higher tick infestation rates than male Indian rat snakes. Using Mann-Whitney U test, we found that longer snakes of both species had significantly higher rate of tick infestation in both the species of snakes

Tick infestation on wild snakes in northern part of western Ghats of India.

In total, 167 individuals of 30 species of snakes belonging to 22 genera and five families were examined for tick infestation from November 2008 to March 2010. Only two species of snakes, Ptyas mucosa (L., 1758) (Indian rat snake) and Naja naja (L., 1758) (spectacled cobra), were found infested by ticks. All ticks collected were identified to be Amblyomma gervaisi [previously Aponomma gervaisi (Lucas, 1847) 1. The average prevalence of these ticks on Indian rat snakes (n=48) was 29.16%, with abundance of 7.02 ticks per individual; on spectacled cobras (n=20), average prevalence was 30.00%, with abundance of 6.9 ticks per individual. The nymphs and males were predominant. All the ticks were found on the dorsal aspect of the body of the snake, and no ticks were recorded on the head, tail, or ventral body. The rate of tick infestation was highest in scrubland and was lowest in evergreen forests. Female Indian rat snakes showed higher tick infestation rates than male Indian rat snakes. Using Mann-Whitney U test, we found that longer snakes of both species had significantly higher rate of tick infestation in both the species of snakes

Modeling highly pathogenic avian influenza transmission in wild birds and poultry in West Bengal, India.

Wild birds are suspected to have played a role in highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreaks in West Bengal. Cluster analysis showed that H5N1 was introduced in West Bengal at least 3 times between 2008 and 2010. We simulated the introduction of H5N1 by wild birds and their contact with poultry through a stochastic continuous-time mathematical model. Results showed that reducing contact between wild birds and domestic poultry, and increasing the culling rate of infected domestic poultry communities will reduce the probability of outbreaks. Poultry communities that shared habitat with wild birds or those indistricts with previous outbreaks were more likely to suffer an outbreak. These results indicate that wild birds can introduce HPAI to domestic poultry and that limiting their contact at shared habitats together with swift culling of infected domestic poultry can greatly reduce the likelihood of HPAI outbreaks

Expression of CD71 by flow cytometry in acute leukemias: More often seen in acute myeloid leukemia

Background: CD71 is a marker that has been usually used for identifying dysplasia in the erythroid series. We have tried to evaluate the expression of CD71 in various types of acute leukemias. Materials and Methods: We studied 48 patients of acute leukemia, of which 25 were acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 13 were precursor B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), 8 were T-ALL, and 2 were mixed phenotype acute leukemia (T/myeloid) as per the WHO classification. Results: We found that the expression of CD71 was most prevalent in AMLs (84%), followed by T-ALL (50%) and least in B-ALL (30%). Conclusion: This finding clearly shows the higher expression of CD71 in AMLs compared to other common type of leukemias, such as B- and T-ALL. We suggest that the high expression of CD71 in AMLs could be used as a diagnostic marker and may also be used for minimal residual disease analysis after further studies in posttreatment scenario. This study is the first of its kind in the South Asian population