Additions to the thrips (Thysanoptera) fauna of Odisha, India

Ten thrips species in ten genera of two families (Phlaeothripidae and Thripidae) of suborders Tubulifera and Terebrantia (Order Thysanoptera) are newly added to the fauna of Odisha, India. These species collected from various host plants are being reported for the first time from Odisha; three species in Phlaeothripidae and seven in Thripidae. Three species, Panchaetothrips stepheni, Scirtothrips bispinosus and Elaphrothrips greeni are recorded as new distribution reports from North India whereas, Crotonothrips polyalthiae has been newly reported from India. This survey reports newly added nine genera viz.,Astrothrips, Panchaetothrips, Selenothrips, Neohydatothrips, Den-drothripoides, Megalurothrips, Elaphrothrips, Crotonothrips and Karnyothrips and two subfamilies Panchaetothripi-nae and Idolothripinae to the fauna of Odisha. Diagnostic features, distribution and data on material studied for the-se species are given. The number of known species of thrips in Odisha is thus increased to 23

Additions to the terebrantian (Insecta: Thysanoptera) fauna of Kerala, India

Extensive surveys were carried out in Kerala in order to explore the thysanopteran fauna since the state has hardly been studied for the fauna of thrips after Dr. T.N. Ananthakrishnan’s era of Indian thysanopteran taxonomy. Nine species of terebrantian thrips, one in the family Aeolothripidae and the remaining eight in the familyThripidae are being listed as new to Kerala state records collected from different hosts. Diagnostic features, distribution and data on material studied for these species are given. The number of known species of terebrantian thrips in Kerala is thus increased to forty two

Antibacterial and wound healing activities of melastoma malabathricum linn.

Melastoma malabathricum Linn. (Melastomataceae), locally known as senduduk putih, is a wellknown plant in Malaysian traditional medicine. On the basis of its traditional use and literature reference,this plant was selected for evaluation of its wound healing and antibacterial activities. Methanol extract of M. malabathricum was examined for its wound healing activity in the form of an ointment in two types of wound model in rats: (i) the excision wound model and (ii) the incision wound model. The methanol extract ointment produced a significant response in both of the wound types tested. The results were also comparable with the standard drug, nitrofurazone, in terms of wound contracting ability, wound closure time, tensile strength and regeneration of tissues at the wound site. Regarding antibacterial activity, M. malabathricum extract inhibited the different clinical wound isolates of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa with MIC ranging from 3.0 mg/ml for 3 of the 4 clinical strains of S. aureus to 8.0 mg/ml for all the 3 clinical strains of P. aeruginosa tested.Keywords: Melastoma malabathricum; Antibacterial; Methanol extract; Wound healing

Analgesic and antipyretic effects of Sansevieria trifasciata leaves

The ethanol and water extracts of Sansevieria trifasciata leaves showed dose-dependent and significant (P < 0.05) increase in pain threshold in tail-immersion test. Moreover, both the extracts (100 – 200 mg/kg) exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of writhing and also showed a significant (P < 0.001) inhibition of both phases of the formalin pain test. The ethanol extract (200 mg/kg) significantly (P < 0.01) reversed yeast-induced fever. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, terpenoids, tannins, proteins and carbohydrates.Keywords: Sansevieria trifasciata , Analgesic activity, Antipyretic activity

Shedding light on the polyphyletic behavior of the genus Sterkiella: The importance of ontogenetic and molecular phylogenetic approaches

Present study, investigates a poorly known species of the genus Sterkiella, i.e., S. tricirrata, based on two populations isolated from soil samples collected from the Colfiorito Regional Park, Umbria Region, Italy and from the Silent Valley National Park, India. Both populations showed a highly similar morphology, however different ontogenetic pattern in between. The study confirms the validity of the species S. tricirrata which was considered to be a species within the Sterkiella histriomuscorum complex. The main ontogenetic difference between S. tricirrata and other species of the genus Sterkiella is the different mode of formation of anlagen V and VI of the proter in the former. In the phylogenetic analyses, Sterkiella tricirrata clusters with Sterkiella sinica within the stylonychine oxytrichids, in a clade away from the type species (Sterkiella cavicola) of the genus Sterkiella. The study highlights the importance of ontogenetic as well as molecular data in shedding light on the polyphyletic behavior of the genus Sterkiella. A detailed description of S. tricirrata based on morphology, ontogenesis and molecular phylogenetic methods is presented. Further, the improved diagnosis has been provided for the genus Sterkiella and the poorly known species S. tricirrata

An intelligent decision support system to prevent and control of dengue

Prevention and control of dengue fever are considered as a complex problem in day-to-day life. Noticeable changes in the human population growth, life style, and climate would cause more dengue outbreak in all over the world. The Government of India has developed a number of prevention and control strategies to protect individuals from dengue fever. Though, the strategies provided by the government are not identified based on people, space and time. In order to overcome this issue, the proposed approach presents various alternatives such as vaccination, disease surveillance, vector control, proper sanitation and increased accessed to safe drinking water, strengthening public health activities, awareness creation, and improving nutrition foods for women and child. The proposed alternatives are selected based on people, space and time criteria’s such as low temperature and heavy rain, high mean temperature and high humidity, water accumulation and rainfall resources and facilities, social culture variable and social demographic variable. The selection of alternatives based on multiple criteria’s is considered as a complex problem in decision-making framework. In general, decision makers and administrators are often used linguistic terms to give their opinions. This paper uses fuzzy logic based VIKOR (VIsekriterijumska optimizacija i KOmpromisno Resenje) method to analyze the linguistic terms collected from the decision makers and rank the best alternatives based on multiple criteria’s

Addressing Women's Non-Maternal Healthcare Financing in Developing Countries: What Can We Learn from the Experiences of Rural Indian Women?

Background and Objectives: This paper focuses on the inadequate attention on women’s non-maternal healthcare in lowand middle-income countries. The study assessed the purchase of and financial access to non-maternal healthcare. It also scoped for mainstreaming household financial resources in this regard to suggest for alternatives. Methods: A household survey through multi-stage stratified sampling in the state of Orissa interviewed rural women above 15 years who were neither pregnant nor had any pregnancy-related outcome six weeks preceding the survey. The questions explored on the processes, determinants and outcomes of health seeking for non-maternal ailments. The outcome measures were healthcare access, cost of care and financial access. The independent variables for bivariate and multivariate analyses were contextual factors, health seeking and financing pattern. Results: The survey obtained a response rate of 98.64 % and among 800 women, 43.8 % had no schooling and 51 % were above 60 years. Each woman reported at least one episode of non-maternal ailment; financial constraints prevented 68% from receiving timely and complete care. Distress coping measures (e.g. borrowings) dominated the financing source (67.9%) followed by community–based measures (32.1%). Only 6 % had financial risk-protection; financial risk of not obtaining care doubled for women aged over 60 years (OR 2.00, 95 % CI 0.84–4.80), seeking outpatient consultation (OR 2.01, 95 % CI 0.89–4.81), facing unfavourable household response (OR 2.04, 95 % CI 1.09–3.83), and lacking other financia