Preliminary phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of Samanea saman

Samanea saman is a tropically distributed medicinal plant. Antimicrobial activity of aqueous extract of this plant was investigated by Well-diffusion method against three organisms: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The plant extract showed inhibitory activity against all the tested organisms. Five mg/ml inhibited the growth of E. coli but slightly higher concentration of 10 mg/mL was necessary to show inhibition against S. aureus and C. albicans. Phytochemical screening of the plant revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoides, saponins, steroids, cardiac glycosides and terpenoids. The study scientifically validates the use of plant in traditional medicine

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Solvent dependence on structure and electronic properties of 7-(diethylamino) - 2h -1- benzopyran-2- one (c-466) laser dye

In this work, we studied influences on the absorption and fluorescence emission spectra of coumarin-4066 (C-466) with different solvent polarity scale. The spectral shifts reflect the effect of the equilibrium solvents association across the energized solute particle, which adjusts inertially as a result of quick charge realignment upon radiative deactivation to the lowest electronic state. The dipole moments of C-466 are determined by employing the Bakhshiev, Kawski-Chamma-Viallet, Lippert-Mataga and McRae relations. The results from all these methods are, excited state dipole moment of C-466 is higher than the ground state dipole moments and which indicates molecule is less polar in the ground state. Theoretical analysis was also carried out by Density Functional theory (DFT and TD –DFT) employing the BECKE-1998 (exchange)/STO-6G basic set in ethanol solvent and in vacuum medium. The HOMO-LUMO, Solvent Accessible Surfaces (SAS) and Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) were analysed to acquire additional knowledge of the molecular arrangement and electronic properties of C-466. These photophysical properties suggest delineation can be mauled for laying out new luminescent tests for various solvents microenvironment

Charecterization of native rice specific isolates of Trichoderma and evaluation of its effect on sheath blight pathogen Rhizoctonia solani

Not AvailableTrichoderma species is one of the most important antagonistic fungi commonly found in soil and is effective against many soil borne plant pathogens. It has been reported to improve plant growth and development in addition to its biocontrol effects on the pathogens. Sheath blight is one of the most economic important disease of rice causing significant yield loss. Biocontrol using Trichoderma spp. is reported to be a safe and effective alternate strategy to the use of fungicides which are harmful to the environment and consumers alike. About 4 native isolates of Trichoderma spp. were isolated from rhizospheric soil collected from different rice growing areas in India including the states of India viz., Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The isolates were characterized both morphologically and by molecular means using ITS sequencing of Trichoderma specific 18s rRNAs. Accordingly the isolates were identified and the most potential isolate identified from the results was found to be Trichoderma asperellum based on the query score and similarity percentage. Results from the studies on the bio-efficacy of the isolates indicated that T. asperellum isolate IIRRCK1 was found to be the most effective in improving plant growth and high inhibition of R.solani (51.8%) under in vitro conditions.Not Availabl

RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access

Seasonal prevalence of different species of Culicoide

Not Available

Not AvailableSubclinical mastitis (SCM) represents a major proportion of the burden of mastitis. Determining somatic cell count (SCC) and electrical conductivity (EC) of milk are useful approaches to detect SCM. In order to correlate grades of SCM with the load of five major mastitis pathogens, 246 milk samples from a handful of organized and unorganized sectors were screened. SCC (>5 × 105/mL) and EC (>6.5 mS/cm) identified 110 (45 %) and 153 (62 %) samples, respectively, to be from SCM cases. Randomly selected SCM-negative samples as well as 186 samples positive by either SCC or EC were then evaluated for isolation of five major mastitis-associated bacteria. Of the 323 isolates obtained, 95 each were S. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), 48 were E. coli and 85 were streptococci. There was no association between the distribution of organisms and (a) the different groups of SCC, or (b) organised farms and unorganised sectors. By contrast, there was a significant difference in the distribution of CoNS, and not other species, between organized farms and unorganized sectors. In summary, bacteria were isolated irrespective of the density of somatic cells or the type of farm setting, and the frequency of isolation of CoNS was higher with organized farms. These results suggest the requirement for fine tuning SCC and EC limits and the higher probability for CoNS to be associated with SCM in organized diary sectors, and have implications for the identification, management and control of mastitis in India.Not Availabl

Heating and lighting: understanding overlooked energy-consumption activities in the Indian residential sector

Understanding the climate impact of residential emissions starts with determining the fuel consumption of various household activities. While cooking emissions have been widely studied, non-cooking energy-consumption activities in the residential sector such as heating and lighting, have been overlooked owing to the unavailability of data at national levels. The present study uses data from the Carbonaceous Aerosol Emissions, Source Apportionment and Climate Impacts (COALESCE) project, which consists of residential surveys over 6000 households across 49 districts of India, to understand the energy consumed by non-cooking residential activities. Regression models are developed to estimate information in non-surveyed districts using demographic, housing, and meteorological data as predictors. Energy demand is further quantified and distributed nationally at a 4 × 4 km resolution. Results show that the annual energy consumption from non-cooking activities is 1106 [201] PJ, which is equal to one-fourth of the cooking energy demand. Freely available biomass is widely used to heat water on traditional stoves, even in the warmer regions of western and southern India across all seasons. Space heating (51%) and water heating (42%) dominate non-cooking energy consumption. In comparison, nighttime heating for security personnel (5%), partly-residential personal heating by guards, dominant in urban centers and kerosene lighting (2%) utilize minimal energy. Biomass fuels account for over 90% of the non-cooking consumption, while charcoal and kerosene make up the rest. Half of the energy consumption occurs during winter months (DJF), while 10% of the consumption occurs during monsoon, when kerosene lighting is the highest. Firewood is the most heavily used fuel source in western India, charcoal in the northern hilly regions, agricultural residues and dung cake in the Indo-Gangetic plains, and kerosene in eastern India. The study shows that ∼20% of residential energy consumption is on account of biomass-based heating and kerosene lighting activities