A strategy for the control of Andraca bipunctata Walker on tea

Larvae of Andraca bipunctata Walker (Bombycidae: Lepidoptera) rapidly defoliate mature tea plants in north-east India, necessitating the application of insecticides that will kill or knock them down quickly. In a field trial in 1978, the synthetic pyrethroids permethrin and deltamethrin both gave excellent control of this defoliator at 0·5 g/ha, although the effect was more persistent at 1·0 g/ha. These insecticides failed to reach the target sites within dense canopies, and treatments were less effective during periods of heavy rainfall. The tachinid parasite Cylindromya sp. became active, although it failed to keep the numbers of larvae below the damaging level.     

Comparative efficacy of diminazene diaceturate and imidocarb dipropionate against Babesia equi infection in donkeys

Diminazene diaceturate (Berenil, Hoechst) at 12 mg/kg intramuscularly (i/m) and repeated after 24 hours controlled the rising parasitaemia of Babesia equi infection in four out of five splenectomised donkeys. The drug was more effective in the early stages of the disease and had a prophylactic effect for at least 30–35 days.A new babesicide, imidocarb (Imizol, Burroughs Wellcome), was 100% effective in three splenectomised donkeys at 5 mg/kg, i/m and repeated after 48 hours. However, imidocarb at 5 or 2 mg/kg i/m with a single injection was only partially effective or ineffective.     

A potentized homeopathic drug, Arsenicum Album 200, can ameliorate genotoxicity induced by repeated injections of arsenic trioxide in mice

Groundwater arsenic contamination has become a menacing global problem. No drug is available until now to combat chronic arsenic poisoning. To examine if a potentized homeopathic remedy, Arsenicum Album-200, can effectively combat chronic arsenic toxicity induced by repeated injections of Arsenic trioxide in mice, the following experimental design was adopted. Mice (Mus musculus) were injected subcutaneously with 0.016% arsenic trioxide at the rate of 1 ml/100 g body weight, at an interval of 7 days until they were killed at day 30, 60, 90 or 120 and were divided into three groups: (i) one receiving a daily dose of Arsenicum Album-200 through oral administration, (ii) one receiving the same dose of diluted succussed alcohol (Alcohol-200) and (iii) another receiving neither drug, nor succussed alcohol. The remedy or the placebo, as the case may be, was fed from the next day onwards after injection until the day before the next injection, and the cycle was repeated until the mice were killed. Two other control groups were also maintained: one receiving only normal diet, and the other receiving normal diet and succussed alcohol. Several toxicity assays, such as cytogenetical (chromosome aberrations, micronuclei, mitotic index, sperm head anomaly) and biochemical (acid and alkaline phosphatases, lipid peroxidation), were periodically made. Compared with controls, the drug fed mice showed reduced toxicity at statistically significant levels in respect of all the parameters studied, thereby indicating protective potentials of the homeopathic drug against chronic arsenic poisoning.     

The size and duration of the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake from far-field static offsets

The 26 December 2004 Sumatra earthquake produced static offsets at continuously operating GPS stations at distances of up to 4500 kilometers from the epicenter. We used these displacements to model the earthquake and include consideration of the Earth's shape and depth-varying rigidity. The results imply that the average slip was >5 meters along the full length of the rupture, including the approximately 650-kilometer-long Andaman segment. Comparison of the source derived from the far-field static offsets with seismically derived estimates suggests that 25 to 35% of the total moment release occurred at periods greater than 1 hour. Taking into consideration the strong dip dependence of moment estimates, the magnitude of the earthquake did not exceed Mw = 9.2.     

Effect of biofilm on water quality and growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Etroplus suratensis</Emphasis> (Bloch, 1790)

An experiment was conducted to compare the efficiency of biofilm production in natural and artificial substrates and to study their effect on water quality and growth of Etroplus suratensis. Four different substrates were used for biofilm formation: paddy straw (T1), sugarcane bagasse (T2), polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipe (T3) and plastic sheet (T4). The experiment was carried out in mud-bottomed fibre-reinforced plastic tanks (300 L) in triplicates. About 3000 cm² surface area (600 g) of each substrate was suspended in water supplemented with fertilizers. Only cow dung and urea were applied in control tanks. The tanks were stocked with 25 fishes with average weight of 9.1 ± 0.22 g. The overall mean value of heterotrophic bacteria in substrate was found higher in straw followed by bagasse, plastic and PVC. The dominant genera of bacteria in the substrate were Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Micrococcus in that order of preponderance. The mean phytoplankton and zooplankton density on the substrates were higher in bagasse followed by straw, plastic and PVC. The biofilm developed on the substrate significantly reduced the ammonia nitrogen and nitrite-nitrogen content of water. The growth of fishes was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in substrate-based treatments than that in the control with better results in bagasse followed by straw, plastic and PVC. The conclusions of the present study are that biofilm produced on natural substrates, especially on bagasse, enhanced growth of E. suratensis and reduced the necessity of water exchange during the culture, which certainly decreases the cost of Etroplus production.     

Thromboelastography platelet mapping in healthy dogs using 1 analyzer versus 2 analyzers

The objective of this study was to describe the results of thromboelastography platelet mapping (TEG-PM) carried out using 2 techniques in 20 healthy dogs. Maximum amplitudes (MA) generated by thrombin (MA_thrombin), fibrin (MA_fibrin), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptor activity (MA_ADP), and thromboxane A₂ (TxA₂) receptor activity (stimulated by arachidonic acid, MA_AA) were recorded. Thromboelastography platelet mapping was carried out according to the manufacturer’s guidelines (2-analyzer technique) and using a variation of this method employing only 1 analyzer (1-analyzer technique) on 2 separate blood samples obtained from each dog. Mean [± standard deviation (SD)] MA values for the 1-analyzer/2-analyzer techniques were: MA_thrombin = 51.9 mm (± 7.1)/52.5 mm (± 8.0); MA_fibrin = 20.7 mm (± 21.8)/23.0 mm (± 26.1); MA_ADP = 44.5 mm (± 15.6)/45.6 mm (± 17.0); and MA_AA = 45.7 mm (± 11.6)/45.0 mm (± 15.4). Mean (± SD) percentage aggregation due to ADP receptor activity was 70.4% (± 32.8)/67.6% (± 33.7). Mean percentage aggregation due to TxA₂ receptor activity was 77.3% (± 31.6)/78.1% (± 50.2). Results of TEG-PM were not significantly different for the 1-analyzer and 2-analyzer methods. High correlation was found between the 2 methods for MA_fibrin [concordance correlation coefficient (r) = 0.930]; moderate correlation was found for MA_thrombin (r = 0.70) and MA_ADP (r = 0.57); correlation between the 2 methods for MA_AA was lower (r = 0.32). Thromboelastography platelet mapping (TEG-PM) should be further investigated to determine if it is a suitable method for measuring platelet dysfunction in dogs with thrombopathy.