Ethanolic extract of melgota (Macaranga postulata) for repellency, insecticidal activity against rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae)

Ethanolic extract of Melgota is used for repellency, insecticidal activity against rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) with emphasis on chemical investigation. Fruits of Melgota (Macaranga postulata) wereextracted on different solvents as in ethanol, acetone, petroleum ether, distilled water and the extracts were concentrated and dried. The ethanol extracts of Melgota (M. postulata) of differentconcentrations were investigated for their repellency and insecticidal activity against S. oryzae. Average mortality percentage indicated that the extracts caused significant mortality and repellencyon the target insects and bioassays indicated that the toxic and repellent effect was proportional to the concentration and higher concentration has stronger effect. Observed mortality percentageincreased with increase in time intervals after treatment. Mortality percentage at 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.50 h after treatment (HAT) indicated that 4% solution showed the highest mortality (34.0%) in S.oryzae at 1.50 HAT compared to pediculus humanus. Mortality percentage showed parallel response to the level of concentration at different time intervals after treatment. 1% fruit extract of Melgota (M.postulata) showed the lowest repellency 9.84 % in case of rice weevil. On other side, 2% showed 12.76% and 4% showed 22.43% respectively. TLC of crude ethanol extract of Melgota (M. postulata)showed six distinct compounds at uv-visible light

Biological, Histological and Ultra-Structural Studies of Female Mullet, Mugil cephalus, Ovaries Collected from Different Habitats during Annual Reproductive Cycle

This study investigates some biological characters (oocyte diameter, fecundity, histological and ultra structural features) of female Mugil cephalus ovaries collected from three different natural habitats: marine (MW), brackish (BW) and fresh (FW) water. Monthly gonadosomatic index (GSI) values clearly showed that the time period of reproductive activity in female M. cephalus from marine and brackish water habitats was from early September to late November. No peak value of GSI in females collected from freshwater was observed throughout the year. Analysis of ovum diameter for M. cephalus in the two habitats revealed that, there are small diameter ova (less than 0.3 mm) and large ova (larger than 0.35 mm). The percentage of small ova diameter was 5±1% in marine habitat, while 27±3% for brackish water habitat. The mean oocyte diameters in fresh water fish were less than 350 μm. The oocytes did not develop enough to be differentiated into small and large diameter ova. The total number of ripe ova in marine fish varied between 0.84 ± 0.05 to 4.14±1.01 x106 for a total length ranging between 35 and 52 cm, respectively; whereas, the total number of ripe ova in brackish water fish ranged from 0.57±0.14 to 3.81±0.59 x106 for the same length groups. There was highly significant correlation (p>0.01) between the number and length of ripe ova in 37 and 50 cm length group from the two habitats. Yolky nucleus or Balbiani’s body and interstitial epithelial cells are a characteristic feature of oocytes at maturing stage, which is clearly detected in marine water fish with isolated follicular and active organelles. In brackish and fresh water fish ovary, the cytoplasm was compacted without accumulation of active organelles. Ultra structurally vacuolized oocyte wall in marine fish showed the presence of the fifth layer (cortical alveoli) while no cortical alveoli formation was observed in oocyte of brackish or fresh water females. The percentage of atretic oocytes in late vitellogenic ovary of marine water fish was about 2.5%, while in brackish water fish it was about 92±2%. In both brackish and fresh water fishes the initial stage of oocytes atresia degeneration was observed. In conclusion, the comparative study shows that ovary of marine and brackish M. cephalus morphologically overlaps from ripening to re-sorption stages. With the histological and fine structure characteristics, it was possible to understand the functional relationship between oocyte size and stage of fish maturation. This knowledge is of huge importance in establishing the reproductive status of the fish which is related to the functional expression of the folliculogenesis in female individuals.Keywords: Ova, Mugil cephalus, Marine, Brackish and Fresh Water Fis

A study on the financial feasibility of compliant ship recycling yards in Bangladesh

\ua9 2023 ANAME Publication.Ship recycling is one of the most promising industries for Bangladesh. A significant amount of local steel demand is fulfilled by scrap metals from ship recycling yards. Bangladesh has been maintaining a competitive position in the ship recycling sector along with China, India, and Pakistan. But, in the absence of substantial workplace safety and infrastructure development and for not following international regulations, Bangladesh may lose its market share to other countries in this sector. This paper presents a financial analysis to establish compliant ship recycling facilities that will fulfill the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) requirements. This analysis has considered all the facilities of a compliant ship-recycling yard, including impermeable floors, mechanized systems, oily water separators, firefighting systems, and other special features. The worthiness, scalability, and sustainability of investing in the development of compliant ship recycling facilities have been assessed from Bangladesh’s perspective and the benefits over the conventional ones have been discussed. Also, the challenges for ship recyclers and their prevalent perspective toward establishing compliant ship recycling facilities have been depicted. Lastly, recommendations have been suggested to assist the ship recyclers in Bangladesh by encouraging them to invest and enable HKC-compliant ship recycling to harness long-term economic rewards

Gauge gravity duality for d-wave superconductors: prospects and challenges

We write down an action for a charged, massive spin two field in a fixed Einstein background. Despite some technical problems, we argue that in an effective field theory framework and in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, this action can be used to study the properties of a superfluid phase transition with a d-wave order parameter in a dual strongly interacting field theory. We investigate the phase diagram and the charge conductivity of the superfluid phase. We also explain how possible couplings between the spin two field and bulk fermions affect the fermion spectral function.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figure

Micropropagation and production of eurycomanone, 9- methoxycanthin-6-one and canthin-6-one in roots of Eurycoma longifolia plantlets

Eurycoma longifolia or Tongkat Ali is a well known medicinal plant in Malaysia. The plants are used as main portion in herbal preparation, and have been extensively harvested. Generally, most of the raw materials required by the industries are heavily collected from the natural forests, thereby resulting in the uncontrolled exploitation of the plant in the wild. Hence, there is a need to ensure adequate supply of quality E. longifolia for the use of the related industries and for conservation purposes. Micropropagation has proved to be an alternative for the multiplication of medicinal and aromatic plants and it can allow the future commercial use of E. longifolia in the herbal industries. In this study, E. longifolia plantlets were successfully mass-produced using axillary shoot multiplication techniques, and the production of eurycomanone, 9-methoxycanthin-6-one and canthin-6-one compounds of E. longifolia were detected in roots of tissue culture plantlets.Key words: E. longifolia, Tongkat Ali, micropropagation, eurycomanone, 9-methoxycanthin-6-one, canthin-6- one

Morning Cortisol and Circulating Inflammatory Cytokine Levels: A Mendelian Randomisation Study.

Cortisol exerts a broad anti-inflammatory effect on the immune system. Inflammatory cytokines contribute to the molecular signalling pathways implicated in various autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. However, the mechanisms by which cortisol modulates such signalling pathways remain uncertain. Leveraging summary-level data from the CORtisol NETwork (CORNET, n = 25,314) and FINRISK (n = 8293) genome-wide association studies, we used two-sample Mendelian randomisation to investigate the causal effect of genetically proxied morning cortisol levels on 42 circulating cytokines. We found that increased genetically proxied morning cortisol levels were associated with reduced levels of IL-8 and increased levels of MIF. These results provide mechanistic insight into the immunomodulatory effects of endogenous cortisol and the therapeutic effects of exogenous corticosteroids. Clinically, our findings underline the therapeutic importance of steroids in inflammatory conditions where IL-8 and MIF play a central pathophysiological role in the onset and progression of disease

Effectiveness of counseling for anxiety and depression in mothers of children ages 0-30 months by community workers in Karachi, Pakistan: a quasi experimental study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of anxiety/depression is quite high during the perinatal period but unfortunately its detection and treatment have been less than satisfactory. Moreover, many women are reluctant to take pharmacotherapy for fear of excretion of drugs into their breast milk. This study assesses the effectiveness of counseling from minimally trained community health workers in reducing anxiety/depression, the rate of recurrence and the interval preceding recurrence in women during first two and a half years after childbirth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a quasi-experimental study, community women from two under-privileged communities were trained in data gathering, teaching healthy child-rearing practices, basic counseling skills, and screening for anxiety/depression by using an indigenously developed questionnaire, the Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale (AKUADS). The diagnosis was further confirmed by a clinical psychologist using DSM IV criteria. After obtaining consent, 420 women were screened and 102 were identified as having anxiety/depression. Screening was carried out after 1, 2, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months of a live birth. Only 62 out of 102 agreed to be counseled and received eight weekly sessions. AKUADS was re-administered at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after the beginning of counseling; this was followed by the clinical psychologist's interview for confirmation of response. After recovery, screening was continued every 3 months for detection of recurrence throughout the study period. Out of the women who had declined counseling 12 agreed to retake AKUADS after 4 and 8 weeks of diagnosis. Independent samples t-test, chi-square test, Repeated Measures ANOVA and Kaplan Meier technique were used for the analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant decline in level of anxiety/depression was found in both the counseled and the non-counseled groups at 4 and 8 weeks (p-value < 0.001) but the counseled group fared better than the non-counseled for recovery, reduction in the rate of recurrence and increase in the duration before relapse.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As our results cannot be generalized; further studies need to be carried out, to assess the benefit of incorporating minimal counseling skills in the training of community health workers.</p

Structural Insight into How Bacteria Prevent Interference between Multiple Divergent Type IV Secretion Systems

Prokaryotes use type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) to translocate substrates (e.g., nucleoprotein, DNA, and protein) and/or elaborate surface structures (i.e., pili or adhesins). Bacterial genomes may encode multiple T4SSs, e.g., there are three functionally divergent T4SSs in some Bartonella species (vir, vbh, and trw). In a unique case, most rickettsial species encode a T4SS (rvh) enriched with gene duplication. Within single genomes, the evolutionary and functional implications of cross-system interchangeability of analogous T4SS protein components remains poorly understood. To lend insight into cross-system interchangeability, we analyzed the VirB8 family of T4SS channel proteins. Crystal structures of three VirB8 and two TrwG Bartonella proteins revealed highly conserved C-terminal periplasmic domain folds and dimerization interfaces, despite tremendous sequence divergence. This implies remarkable structural constraints for VirB8 components in the assembly of a functional T4SS. VirB8/TrwG heterodimers, determined via bacterial two-hybrid assays and molecular modeling, indicate that differential expression of trw and vir systems is the likely barrier to VirB8-TrwG interchangeability. We also determined the crystal structure of Rickettsia typhi RvhB8-II and modeled its coexpressed divergent paralog RvhB8-I. Remarkably, while RvhB8-I dimerizes and is structurally similar to other VirB8 proteins, the RvhB8-II dimer interface deviates substantially from other VirB8 structures, potentially preventing RvhB8-I/RvhB8-II heterodimerization. For the rvh T4SS, the evolution of divergent VirB8 paralogs implies a functional diversification that is unknown in other T4SSs. Collectively, our data identify two different constraints (spatiotemporal for Bartonella trw and vir T4SSs and structural for rvh T4SSs) that mediate the functionality of multiple divergent T4SSs within a single bacterium. IMPORTANCE:&nbsp; Assembly of multiprotein complexes at the right time and at the right cellular location is a fundamentally important task for any organism. In this respect, bacteria that express multiple analogous type IV secretion systems (T4SSs), each composed of around 12 different components, face an overwhelming complexity. Our work here presents the first structural investigation on factors regulating the maintenance of multiple T4SSs within a single bacterium. The structural data imply that the T4SS-expressing bacteria rely on two strategies to prevent cross-system interchangeability: (i) tight temporal regulation of expression or (ii) rapid diversification of the T4SS components. T4SSs are ideal drug targets provided that no analogous counterparts are known from eukaryotes. Drugs targeting the barriers to cross-system interchangeability (i.e., regulators) could dysregulate the structural and functional independence of discrete systems, potentially creating interference that prevents their efficient coordination throughout bacterial infection.</p

Challenges and opportunities for implementing integrated mental health care: a district level situation analysis from five low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how to tailor implementation of mental health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to the diverse settings encountered within and between countries. In this paper we compare the baseline context, challenges and opportunities in districts in five LMICs (Ethiopia, India, Nepal, South Africa and Uganda) participating in the PRogramme for Improving Mental health carE (PRIME). The purpose was to inform development and implementation of a comprehensive district plan to integrate mental health into primary care. METHODS: A situation analysis tool was developed for the study, drawing on existing tools and expert consensus. Cross-sectional information obtained was largely in the public domain in all five districts. RESULTS: The PRIME study districts face substantial contextual and health system challenges many of which are common across sites. Reliable information on existing treatment coverage for mental disorders was unavailable. Particularly in the low-income countries, many health service organisational requirements for mental health care were absent, including specialist mental health professionals to support the service and reliable supplies of medication. Across all sites, community mental health literacy was low and there were no models of multi-sectoral working or collaborations with traditional or religious healers. Nonetheless health system opportunities were apparent. In each district there was potential to apply existing models of care for tuberculosis and HIV or non-communicable disorders, which have established mechanisms for detection of drop-out from care, outreach and adherence support. The extensive networks of community-based health workers and volunteers in most districts provide further opportunities to expand mental health care. CONCLUSIONS: The low level of baseline health system preparedness across sites underlines that interventions at the levels of health care organisation, health facility and community will all be essential for sustainable delivery of quality mental health care integrated into primary care