Dengue outbreak in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: Entomological investigation and community awareness

Dengue is the most common arboviral infection worldwide. This study aimed to determine the entomological and community-related factors involved in dengue spread during the outbreak in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, 2018. This was a cross-sectional study. The household survey was done to find out the vector responsible for disease transmission and favourable breeding containers. Susceptibility of larvae towards the larvicide being used was carried out. A questionnaire-based survey was undertaken to find out the awareness of residents in the area towards dengue. House index, Container index, and Breteau index were 92.31, 33.14 and 123.34, respectively. Larvae were susceptible to the larvicide being used by the local health department. A high number of wet containers available were contributing to high vector breeding. Community awareness was low in the affected area. Water storage practices and conducive climatic conditions lead to increased vector breeding

DEVELOPMENT OF DRYING PROTOCOL FOR WITHANIA SOMNIFERA ROOTS

Objective: This experiment was conducted to develop a drying protocol for Withania somnifera roots (during the year 2009–2010 under the National Medicinal Plants Board project, B.R. Nahata College of Pharmacy-Scientific Institute of Research Organization, Mandsaur [M.P.]).Methods: The roots of Withania were harvested and cut into different sizes (2–4 inches) and subjected into sun drying, shade drying, and hot air oven drying in temperature ranging from 40°C to 60°C. The temperature for sun drying ranging from 32°C to 42°C during daytime, and in night hours, the samples were kept in plastic covers to prevent reabsorption of moisture. In shade drying, the pieces of roots were kept in shade (proper air flowing place) at normal climatic temperature. Moreover, in hot air oven drying method/mechanical drying method, the pieces of roots were kept at 50°C, 55°C, and 60°C, respectively. The samples were weighed, and the moisture content of the samples was taken at regular intervals until the standard moisture content of the dried roots was obtained that is mentioned in literature (10–5%).Result: The result revealed that hot air oven drying of roots took the lowest time (12 h), while sun drying method took 24 h for drying. The alkaloid content, namely, Withanolide A was significantly influenced by different methods of drying. The highest alkaloid content (0.010%) was observed in sun drying and hot air oven drying with 0.021.abc% as compared to shade drying with 0.009% Withanolide A.Conclusion: It may be concluded that sun drying and hot air oven drying are suitable methods for drying W. somnifera roots

Bibliometric analysis on Hand Gesture Controlled Robot

This paper discusses about the survey and bibliometric analysis of hand gesture-controlled robot using Scopus database in analyzing the research by area, influential authors, countries, institutions, and funding agencies. The 293 documents are extracted from the year 2016 till 6th March 2021 from the database. Bibliometric analysis is the statistical analysis of the research published as articles, conference papers, and reviews, which helps in understanding the impact of publication in the research domain globally. The visualization analysis is done with open-source tools namely GPS Visualizer, Gephi, VOS viewer, and ScienceScape. The visualization aids in a quick and clear understanding of the different perspective as mentioned above in a particular research domain search

Use of different coloured ovitraps in the surveillance of Aedes mosquitoes in an arid-urban area of western Rajasthan, India

Background & objectives: In the absence of any commercially available dengue vaccine or antiviral therapy, controlling the primary mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, is currently the only means to prevent dengue outbreaks. Ovitraps are being employed as a sensitive method for detecting the presence of Ae. aegypti. Size, colour, material, paddle and use of oviposition attractant have been reported as important factors influencing the efficacy of ovitraps. Methods: For the study of coloured ovitraps baited with grass infusion, 24 households were randomly selected in a locality and five ovitraps/premises were installed. Weekly ovitrap surveys were conducted during the study for four times. Ovitrap data were analyzed on the basis of its location, day-wise percent positivity, presence of eggs laid and inference of different ovitrap parameters were drawn. Results: Grass infusion, used in the ovitraps has highest attractiveness on Day 6 in comparison to other days. Percent positivity of different coloured ovitraps revealed that red coloured ovitraps have highest positivity (92.7%), followed by black and orange (91.7% each), green (76.3%) and transparent (45.8%). The individual colour-wise ovitrap positivity revealed that the highest ovitrap positivity on Day 1 was recorded for black colour (21.8%), which on D2 and D3, in case of red colour (37.5 and 26%). However, on D4, D5 and D6 highest number of positive ovitraps was recorded in orange coloured (12.5, 21.9 and 31.3%, respectively) and on D7 highest number of positive ovitraps were recorded in transparent (21.9%), followed by green coloured ovitrap (20.8%). The overall location-wise ovitraps positivity revealed that highest positivity was recorded among the ovitraps installed inside bathrooms (92.0%), followed by bedrooms (85.0%), lobby (66.7%) and stores (48.3%). Interpretation & conclusion: The study revealed that for immediate detection of the presence of gravid females in a particular locality during epidemics, the black coloured ovitraps may be useful, however, in normal situations for surveillance of the vector species, the orange coloured ovitraps might be more suitable. Bathrooms were found to be the highest positive location for pitching ovitraps

Electric Field Enhancement by Gold Nano-Sphere and Its Clusters

The confinement of electrons in gold nanoparticles results in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), which is characterized by electric field enhancement in the vicinity of these nanoparticles. This property has been extensively studied and applied in various fields. In our research, we conduct a detailed investigation of plasmonic coupling in spherical gold nanoparticles. Specifically, we use the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA) method implemented in DDSCAT to simulate the coupling of electric fields in a doublet of nanoparticles as a function of the distance between them. Our simulations show that the coupling of SPR between two nanoparticles occurs up to a separation of 12 nm. Moreover, we extend our simulations to study the coupling of nanoparticles in linear chains consisting of up to five nanoparticles and in clustered forms. Our results indicate that the SPR coupling in a linear chain occurs, and as the number of nanoparticles increases, the field enhancement also increases. However, we observe that this effect saturates after four nanoparticles in a line. Our study provides insights into the plasmonic coupling in gold nanoparticles, which can aid in the design and optimization of plasmonic devices for various applications

Entomological studies for surveillance and prevention of dengue in arid and semi-arid districts of Rajasthan, India

Background & objectives: Rajasthan is one of the dengue endemic states of India. Very few studies have been published on entomological aspects of dengue in this state. Owing to water scarcity, inhabitants in desert areas overstore domestic water which leads to the persistence of dengue vectors within the domestic premises. Area specific knowledge on breeding, key containers and seasonal rhythms of vector population is essential for preparing an effective prevention plan against dengue. Present paper reports results of entomological investigations on dengue vectors in arid and semi-arid districts of Rajasthan. Methods: Longitudinal studies were undertaken during 2004–06 in one arid and two semi-arid dengue endemic districts of Rajasthan. Adult and larval Aedes were collected from the randomly selected houses in representative towns and villages with associated details of container types and water storage practices of inhabitants. Results: In urban areas during all the seasons adult house index (AHI) of Aedes aegypti was maximum in desert zone (25) and least in semi-arid area with saline river III (1). The difference of AHI during three seasons was statistically significant (c2 = 16.1, p <0.01 for urban; and c2 = 50.71, p < 0.001 for rural). Breeding of Ae. aegypti among urban settings was maximum in desert zone. During all the seasons cement tanks were the key breeding habitats for Ae. aegypti in desert as well as semi-arid areas. Interpretation & conclusion: Water storage habits during summer season emerged to be the risk factor of vector abundance in urban areas of arid and semi-arid settings. A carefully designed study of key containers targeting cement tanks as the primary habitats of mosquito control may lead to commendable results for dengue prevention

Introduction, transmission and aggravation of malaria in desert ecosystem of Rajasthan, India

Background & objectives: Malaria is an important public health problem in northwestern desert partof Rajasthan. Since desert malaria is seasonal or unstable, there is a need to study its epidemiology inthe totality to address factors like how malaria is introduced into desert every year and what are desertspecifictransmission risk factors leading to epidemics?Methods: Twenty-six villages in irrigated, semi-irrigated and non-irrigated settings of the desert havebeen selected. Periodic investigations were undertaken in all the seasons from 2001 through 2002 todetermine causes of introduction of disease, the factors involved in its transmission and the epidemicrisk factors. Standard methods/procedures for mosquito collection, preservation and identification andfor parasitological studies were employed. Rainfall data were analysed and correlated.Results: Importation of malaria infection through individuals was the major cause of introduction ofdisease in all the 12 villages showing some initial load of infection. Areas having higher populationof cattle in relation to humans (human to cattle ratio of 1:25) had less transmission of disease (ratioof primary to secondary cases 1:3) as compared to relatively less cattle (human to cattle ratio 1:3)resulting into high transmission of disease with 1:47 ratio of primary to secondary cases. Introducedthrough migration, prospective transmission of malaria was observed as a resultant interaction ofdensity of three components namely malaria cases, vector density and cattle to human ratio. Rainfallmore than average when coupled with more cases of imported malaria leads to the eruption of malariaepidemics.Interpretation & conclusion: Importation of malaria cases was the major cause of seasonal introductionof malaria in the desert. This initial or primary parasitic load available in a village leads to aparticular transmission quantum depending upon the density of vectors, human and cattle populationat a particular time. Areas with more imported cases when coupled with profuse vector population leadto epidemic malaria situations in the desert

Current biological and pharmacological updates on wogonin

Wogonin (5, 7-Dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone) is a traditional naturally occurring flavonoid derived from the root extract of Chinese medicine, named Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Wogonin contains various biological properties which include allergic diseases, anti-cancertherapy and anti-inflammatory activities. Wogonin also shows the effects of removing toxins and cleansing heat. Wogonin glycosides are known as wogonosides. Oroxindin, a wogonin glucuronide isolated from Oroxylum indicum, is one of the example of wogonoside. It is also used in Japanese herbal supplement named Sho-Saiko-To, as an important active ingredient. One of the major active constituents of wogonin, Scutellaria baicalensis, shows potent anticancer activities both in vivo and in vitro studies. The anticancer therapeutic activity of wogonin has been shown by regulation of different cell signaling pathways , which includes protein kinase B pathway (serine-threonine kinase) and AMP-activated protein kinase pathways. Wogonin also shows positive therapeutic anticancer effects in breast cancer by inhibiting the 5‑LO/BLT2/ERK/IL‑8/MMP‑9 signaling cascade and established a major pharmacological anticancer activity