4,9-Dioxa-1,3(1,2)-dibenzena-2(4,5)-1,3-oxazolidinacyclononaphane

The oxazole ring in the title compound, C20H23NO3, adopts an envelope conformation while the 12-membered ring is in a chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 37.8 (1)°. The crystal structure displays inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding

Development of Single Serum ELISA and Flow Through Assay for Infectious Bursal Disease of Poultry

The infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an age-limiting viral disease of chicken affecting both broiler and layer chicks between 3 – 6 weeks of age characterized by severe immunosuppression and high mortality. The maternally derived antibodies protect chicks till they develop age – resistance, hence breeder flocks immune status monitoring regularly helps in ensuring adequate levels of maternal antibodies transfer to hatchlings and fine tuning of vaccination schedule. The conventional virus neutralization test (VNT) though gold standard, is time consuming and cumbersome. Hence, alternate immunodiagnostic tests which are simple and relatively easy to perform viz., single serum dilution enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for antibody titre and flow through assay (FTA) for antigen detection were developed. A standard curve was constructed by using regression analysis which helped in derivation of an equation and that allowed to demonstrate correlation between observed titre and predicted titre. At a dilution of 1:2000 of serum there was a linear relationship between predicted titres at single serum dilution and observed titre. The FTA was able to detect 200 ng / µl concentrations of IBDV. The FTA can be performed as, on spot test for detection of IBDV in suspected cases

Ficus trees As Components of Rained Agrarian Systems in Mandy District of Karnataka

Mandya district in southern dry agroclimatic zone of Karnataka harbours a remarkable abudance and diversity of trees of ficus genus in dryland fi elds. Various species identified from a survey of hundred farmlands in the district are enlisted in the is communication, along with farmers' perception on direct benefits of these trees in agroforestry systems

Dosing pole recommendations for lymphatic filariasis elimination: A height-weight quantile regression modeling approach

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends height or age-based dosing as alternatives to weight-based dosing for mass drug administration lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination programs. The goals of our study were to compare these alternative dosing strategies to weight-based dosing and to develop and evaluate new height-based dosing pole scenarios. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Age, height and weight data were collected from \u3e26,000 individuals in five countries during a cluster randomized LF clinical trial. Weight-based dosing for diethylcarbamazine (DEC; 6 mg/kg) and ivermectin (IVM; 200 ug/kg) with tablet numbers derived from a table of weight intervals was treated as the gold standard for this study. Following WHO recommended age-based dosing of DEC and height-based dosing of IVM would have resulted in 32% and 27% of individuals receiving treatment doses below those recommended by weight-based dosing for DEC and IVM, respectively. Underdosing would have been especially common in adult males, who tend to have the highest LF prevalence in many endemic areas. We used a 3-step modeling approach to develop and evaluate new dosing pole cutoffs. First, we analyzed the clinical trial data using quantile regression to predict weight from height. We then used weight predictions to develop new dosing pole cutoff values. Finally, we compared different dosing pole cutoffs and age and height-based WHO dosing recommendations to weight-based dosing. We considered hundreds of scenarios including country- and sex-specific dosing poles. A simple dosing pole with a 6-tablet maximum for both DEC and IVM reduced the underdosing rate by 30% and 21%, respectively, and was nearly as effective as more complex pole combinations for reducing underdosing. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Using a novel modeling approach, we developed a simple dosing pole that would markedly reduce underdosing for DEC and IVM in MDA programs compared to current WHO recommended height or age-based dosing

The adult heart responds to increased workload with physiologic hypertrophy, cardiac stem cell activation, and new myocyte formation

Aims It is a dogma of cardiovascular pathophysiology that the increased cardiac mass in response to increased workload is produced by the hypertrophy of the pre-existing myocytes. The role, if any, of adult-resident endogenous cardiac stem/progenitor cells (eCSCs) and new cardiomyocyte formation in physiological cardiac remodelling remains unexplored. Methods and results In response to regular, intensity-controlled exercise training, adult rats respond with hypertrophy of the pre-existing myocytes. In addition, a significant number (∼7%) of smaller newly formed BrdU-positive cardiomyocytes are produced by the exercised animals. Capillary density significantly increased in exercised animals, balancing cardiomyogenesis with neo-angiogenesis. c-kitpos eCSCs increased their number and activated state in exercising vs. sedentary animals. c-kitpos eCSCs in exercised hearts showed an increased expression of transcription factors, indicative of their commitment to either the cardiomyocyte (Nkx2.5pos) or capillary (Ets-1pos) lineages. These adaptations were dependent on exercise duration and intensity. Insulin-like growth factor-1, transforming growth factor-β1, neuregulin-1, bone morphogenetic protein-10, and periostin were significantly up-regulated in cardiomyocytes of exercised vs. sedentary animals. These factors differentially stimulated c-kitpos eCSC proliferation and commitment in vitro, pointing to a similar role in vivo. Conclusion Intensity-controlled exercise training initiates myocardial remodelling through increased cardiomyocyte growth factor expression leading to cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and to activation and ensuing differentiation of c-kitpos eCSCs. This leads to the generation of new myocardial cells. These findings highlight the endogenous regenerative capacity of the adult heart, represented by the eCSCs, and the fact that the physiological cardiac adaptation to exercise stress is a combination of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia (cardiomyocytes and capillaries)

24,4,8-Trioxa-21-aza-1,3,6(1,2)-tri­benzena-2(2,3)-bicyclo­[3.3.0]octa­na­cyclo­octa­phane

The crystal structure of the title compound, C26H25NO3, was determined as part of an investigation of host–guest and electron donor–acceptor complexes. The oxazole and the pyrrole rings both adopt envelope conformations. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings directly linked to the oxazole ring is 49.5 (1)°. The crystal structure is stabilized by a C—H⋯π inter­action

Urbanisation and new agroecologies : the story of Bengaluru’s peripheries

Rural–urban interfaces worldwide are increasingly witnessing massive transformations in the structure, functions, and services of complex ecosystems of these zones. An attempt has been made to understand the transitions triggered by urbanisation in the peri-urban agricultural systems of Bengaluru. Using a combination of land-use change analysis and group interactions, the temporal and spatial patterns in the impacts of urban expansion on agroecology in Bengaluru’s peripheries have been traced. The varying nature of agroecological and sociocultural impacts corresponding to differences in the pattern of urban expansion along different directions from the city have also been unravelled. Further, agroecological repercussions of existing and proposed urban planning strategies for Bengaluru have been discussed

Importance of Spin-Orbit Interaction for the Electron Spin Relaxation in Organic Semiconductors

Despite the great interest organic spintronics has recently attracted, there is only a partial understanding of the fundamental physics behind electron spin relaxation in organic semiconductors. Mechanisms based on hyperfine interaction have been demonstrated, but the role of the spin-orbit interaction remains elusive. Here, we report muon spin spectroscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements on two series of molecular semiconductors in which the strength of the spin-orbit interaction has been systematically modified with a targeted chemical substitution of different atoms at a particular molecular site. We find that the spin-orbit interaction is a significant source of electron spin relaxation in these materials

Redescription of poorly known neustonic calanoid copepod Pontella andersoni Sewell, 1912 (Family: Pontellidae) from the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean

635-640The neustonic calanoid copepod of family Pontellidae Pontella andersoni Sewell, 1912 was originally described from the Bay of Bengal based on a single male and a damaged female with a description of copepodid stage III. Later, this species was described from Gulf of Mannar (based on a male specimen) and from West Java (based on immature specimens). In the present study, adult female and male specimens were collected from the coastal waters of northern Bay of Bengal. The species was easily distinguished from its congeners by a barrel shaped first urosomal somite in female, and two subequal spines with two knot-like projections in the first exopodal segment of right fifth leg, serrated spine and three processes in the second exopodal segment of left leg in male. The present note is an updated illustrative description of P. andersoni, since the previous descriptions were lacking the taxonomic resolution