Excretory-Secretory antigens of rodent filariid, Acanthocheilonema viteae and their cross-reaction with human filarial sera

In vitro released products of adult filariid Acanthocheilonema viteae were characterized according to their SDS-PAGE profiles and immune recognition patterns by infected mastomys and by human sera. Adult worms survived well in the serum free media (HBSS; Sigma) more than ten days. SDS-PAGE analysis of E/S antigens revealed the molecules between 70 and 54.5kDa highly dominant whereas immune recognition with infected mastomys sera demonstrated the immunoreactivity in molecules present between 48.5 and 58kDa. Many of these cross-reacted with W. bancrofti infected human sera showing the sharing of antigens by the two filariid species. 143, 96, 74, 62, 44 and two below 26.6kDa of adult A. viteae E/S cross-reacted with human filarial sera. A number of molecules between 60 and 44kDa were found reactive with both mastomys and human sera demonstrating their possible use in diagnosis. Presence of common antigens between the rodent and human filariid and their shared immunoreactivity demonstrate the usefulness of A. viteae antigens in diagnosis/prophylaxis of human filariasis

Temporal Probability Assessment and Its Use in Landslide Susceptibility Mapping for Eastern Bhutan

Landslides are one of the major natural disasters that Bhutan faces every year. The monsoon season in Bhutan is usually marked by heavy rainfall, which leads to multiple landslides, especially across the highways, and affects the entire transportation network of the nation. The determinations of rainfall thresholds are often used to predict the possible occurrence of landslides. A rainfall threshold was defined along Samdrup Jongkhar–Trashigang highway in eastern Bhutan using cumulated event rainfall and antecedent rainfall conditions. Threshold values were determined using the available daily rainfall and landslide data from 2014 to 2017, and validated using the 2018 dataset. The threshold determined was used to estimate temporal probability using a Poisson probability model. Finally, a landslide susceptibility map using the analytic hierarchy process was developed for the highway to identify the sections of the highway that are more susceptible to landslides. The accuracy of the model was validated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves. The results presented here may be regarded as a first step towards understanding of landslide hazards and development of an early warning system for a region where such studies have not previously been conducted.</jats:p

The role of the subtropical jet in deficient winter precipitation across the mid-Holocene Indus basin

The mid-Holocene (7-5 ka) was a period with an increased seasonal insolation cycle, resulting from decreased insolation during northern hemisphere winter. Here, a set of six CMIP5 models is used to show that the decreased insolation reduced the upper-tropospheric meridional temperature gradient, producing a weaker subtropical jet with less horizontal shear. These effects work to reduce the baroclinic and barotropic instability available for perturbations to grow, and in consequence, storm-tracking results show that there are fewer winter storms over India and Pakistan (known as western disturbances). These western disturbances are weaker, resulting in a reduction in winter precipitation of around 15% in the north Indus Basin. Combined with previous work showing greater northwestward extent of the Indian monsoon during the mid-Holocene, our GCM-derived results are consistent with the Indus Basin changing from a summer-growing season in the mid-Holocene to a winter-growing season in the present day

A two-year participatory intervention project with owners to reduce lameness and limb abnormalities in working horses in Jaipur, India

Participatory methods are increasingly used in international human development, but scientific evaluation of their efficacy versus a control group is rare. Working horses support families in impoverished communities. Lameness and limb abnormalities are highly prevalent in these animals and a cause for welfare concern. We aimed to stimulate and evaluate improvements in lameness and limb abnormalities in horses whose owners took part in a 2-year participatory intervention project to reduce lameness (PI) versus a control group (C) in Jaipur, India.In total, 439 owners of 862 horses participated in the study. PI group owners from 21 communities were encouraged to meet regularly to discuss management and work practices influencing lameness and poor welfare and to track their own progress in improving these. Lameness examinations (41 parameters) were conducted at the start of the study (Baseline), and after 1 year and 2 years. Results were compared with control horses from a further 21 communities outside the intervention. Of the 149 horses assessed on all three occasions, PI horses showed significantly (P<0.05) greater improvement than C horses in 20 parameters, most notably overall lameness score, measures of sole pain and range of movement on limb flexion. Control horses showed slight but significantly greater improvements in four parameters, including frog quality in fore and hindlimbs.This participatory intervention succeeded in improving lameness and some limb abnormalities in working horses, by encouraging changes in management and work practices which were feasible within owners’ socioeconomic and environmental constraints. Demonstration of the potentially sustainable improvements achieved here should encourage further development of participatory intervention approaches to benefit humans and animals in other contexts

Phenotypic profiling of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) accessions enabled identification of promising lines for use in breeding for high yield, early flowering and desirable traits

In the face of climate change, developing resilient crops is crucial for global food security in the 21st century to feed a growing population. Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) plays a vital role in ensuring global food and nutritional security. Traits like early flowering enable the crop to mature faster, thereby shortening the growing window and reducing yield losses caused by moisture and heat stresses during the reproductive phase. However, issues like limited genetic diversity in this trait remain unaddressed. To address this gap, our study aims to comprehensively assess genetic variability and trait associations in 158 lentil accessions. In the present study, we observed significant variations for days to 50% flowering (67–90 days), days to maturity (109–122 days) and 100 seed weight (1.69–2.68 g) throughout a period of two consecutive years (2020–2021 and 2021–2022). The observed variability in these traits offers a valuable avenue for the improvement of lentil yield through targeted selection and hybridization. Additionally, correlation analysis showed negative correlation between days to 50% flowering and grain yield per plant, while plant height had a significant (P < 0.01) positive correlation with all traits except yield per plant. Furthermore, we identified specific germplasm with exceptional traits that hold significant potential for future breeding programmes. The genotypes EC 223197-A and EC 267696 were identified for early flowering with high yield, and other genotypes that were identified for various traits would serve as breeding material for the introgression of these traits into elite cultivars

Oral and pharyngeal cancer in South Asians and non-South Asians in relation to socioeconomic deprivation in South East England.

From UK Thames Cancer Registry data, after controlling for socioeconomic deprivation of area of residence, South Asian males showed a higher relative risk of oral (1.36; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.67), but not of pharyngeal cancer than non-South Asian males, whereas South Asian females had much higher risks of these cancers (3.67; 95% CI: 2.97, 4.53 and 2.06; 95% CI: 1.44, 2.93), respectively, than non-South Asians

Identification of mungbean lines with tolerance or resistance to yellow mosaic in fields in India where different begomovirus species and different Bemisia tabaci cryptic species predominate

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) is an important pulse crop in India. A major constraint for improved productivity is the yield loss caused by mungbean yellow mosaic disease (MYMD). This disease is caused by several begomoviruses which are transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). The objective of this study was to identify the predominant begomoviruses infecting mungbean and the major cryptic species of B. tabaci associated with this crop in India. The indigenous B. tabaci cryptic species Asia II 1 was found dominant in Northern India, whereas Asia II 8 was found predominant in Southern India. Repeated samplings over consecutive years indicate a stable situation with, Mungbean yellow mosaic virus strains genetically most similar to a strain from urdbean (MYMV-Urdbean) predominant in North India, strains most similar to MYMV-Vigna predominant in South India, and Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) strains predominant in Eastern India. In field studies, mungbean line NM 94 showed a high level of tolerance to the disease in the Eastern state of Odisha where MYMIV was predominant and in the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh where MYMV-Vigna was predominant, but only a moderate level of tolerance in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. However, in Northern parts of India where there was high inoculum pressure of MYMV-Urdbean during the Kharif season, NM 94 developed severe yellow mosaic symptoms. The identification of high level of tolerance in mungbean lines such as ML 1628 and of resistance in black gram and rice bean provides hope for tackling the disease through resistance breeding