374 research outputs found
Testudobracon travancorensis Sheeba, sp. nov.
No full textTestudobracon travancorensis Sheeba sp. nov. (Figs 7–8) Material examined. Holotype, female, (♀) “ India: Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Palode, 10.xii.2004, coll. T.C. Narendran & Party ”. Paratypes: 1(♀), “ India: Kerala, Palakkad, Pattambi, Central Orchard, 12.viii.2003, coll. T.C. Narendran & Party ” (DZUC). Description. Holotype, female, length 3.60 mm, antenna 2.54 mm, fore wing 2.92 mm, ovipositor 1.42 mm. Head. Antenna with 24 segments. Length of first flagellomere as long as second. First, second and penultimate flagellomeres 2.50, 2.50 and 2.67× as long as wide respectively. Head 1.43, 2.03× as wide as long medially in anterior and dorsal view respectively. Vertex granulate anteriorly, rugose posteriorly, sparsely setose (Fig. 7 C). Frons granulate with median groove and setose laterally (Fig. 7 C). OOL: diameter of posterior ocellus: POL = 10:4:7; Length of eye 2.63× as long as temple in dorsal view. Lateral temples smooth, shiny and sparsely setose. Height of eye: width of face: width of head= 26:31:59. Face granulate with median longitudinal ridge dorsally, laterally and medially sparsely setose (Fig. 7 B). Height of clypeus: inter-tentorial distance: tentorio-ocular distance = 3.5: 12.5:10. Clypeus with weak dorsal carina. Length of malar space 2.00× basal width of mandible. Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.17× as long as high. Pronotum smooth, shiny, laterally with crenulate groove, glabrous. Mesoscutum faintly punctate, densely setose, middle lobe with a weak mid longitudinal ridge (Fig. 8 A). Notaulus distinct, not crenulated (Fig. 8 A). Scutellar sulcus wide, deep, divided by six carinae (Fig. 8 A). Scutellum smooth, shiny and setose (Fig. 8 A). Mesopleuron rugose-striate anteriorly, moderately setose except a small area dorsally, and near precoxal sulcus glabrous (Fig. 8 B). Precoxal sulcus faintly crenulated (Fig. 8 B). Median area of metanotum with short anterior median carina. Propodeum rugose, with a complete mid longitudinal carina. Wings. Fore wing vein 1-SR 0.53× 1-M. Ratio of length of fore wing veins: r: 3-SR: SR1 = 6:11:31.5 and 2- SR: 3-SR: r-m = 10:11:6. Hind wing vein C+SC+R with single hamulus apically. Ratio of length of hind wing veins1r-m: SC+R1 = 6:9. Legs. Length of fore femur: tibia: tarsus = 21:20.5:25. Hind coxa punctate and sparsely setose. Length of hind femur: tibia: basitarsus = 28:31:13.5. Metasoma. First metasomal tergite 0.70× as long as wide apically with a raised median area posteriorly, sides of median area crenulated, Second metasomal tergite 2.50× wider than long, anterior half of second tergite slightly raised medially in relation to lateral parts and with a pair of parallel sublateral carinae, area between carinae foveate-rugose, reticulate laterally (Fig. 8 C). Third metasomal tergite reticulate (Fig. 8 C). Fourth to sixth metasomal tergites rugose, setose. Third to fifth metasomal tergites rounded postero-laterally. Sixth tergite with small angular protuberance postero-laterally, medial emargination 0.80×as long as tergite medially. Ovipositor 0.67, 0.48× as long as metasoma and fore wing respectively. Colour. Body yellowish brown (Fig. 7 A) except following, antenna, eyes (Figs 7 B & C), occiput (Fig. 7 C), propleuron (Fig. 8 B), mesopleuron dorsally (Fig. 8 B), wing veins (Fig. 8 D), pterostigma (Fig. 8 D), mid coxa, basal three fourth of hind femur and lateral corners of third to fifth tergites brown; frons on either side of median groove (Fig. 7 C), three-quarters of middle lobe of mesoscutum (Fig. 8 A) and posterior half of lateral lobes (Fig. 8 A), propodeum, mesopleuron ventrally (Fig. 8 B), hind coxa, femur, and tibia black; ocelli shiny yellow (Fig. 7 C); fore, mid legs except coxa and hind trochanter yellow. Male. Unknown. Distribution. India (Kerala) (Fig. 9). Host. Unknown. Etymology. The species is named after the region (Travancore region of Kerala) from where the holotype was collected. Comments. Testudobracon travancorensis sp. nov. is similar to T. niger in having third to fifth antennal segments approximately equal length to one another; middle lobe of mesoscutum with a weak median longitudinal ridge, but differs from it in having the following characters: face granulate with median longitudinal ridge dorsally (face rugulose and punctate laterally in T. niger), ratio of length of fore wing veins= r: 3-SR: SR1 = 6:11:31.5 (r: 3- SR: SR1 = 9:17: 51 in T. niger), fore wing vein 1-SR+M straight in T. travancorensis sp. nov. (fore wing vein 1- SR+M slightly curved basally towards posterior margin in T. niger), sixth metasomal tergite with small angular protuberences postero-laterally (postero-lateral protuberences of sixth metasomal tergite rounded in T. niger). This new species is also similar to T. malabaricus sp. nov. in having frons granulate; pronotum smooth, shiny with crenulate grooves laterally; fore wing vein 1-SR+M straight and scutellar sulcus with six carinae. However it differs from T. malabaricus sp. nov. in having the following characters, vertex granulate anteriorly, rugose posteriorly, middle lobe of mesoscutum with a weak median longitudinal ridge (vertex granulate; middle lobe of mesoscutum with moderately developed medial longitudinal ridge in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), mesopleuron rugose-striate, moderately setose except postero-ventrally glabrous (mesopleuron rugose, moderately setose antero-dorsally, punctate and setose antero-ventrally, smooth, shiny and setose posteriorly except around pleural sulcus glabrous in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), sixth metasomal tergite with small angular protuberences posterolaterally (sixth metasomal tergite slightly rounded postero-laterally in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), medial emargination of sixth metasomal tergite 0.80× as long as tergite medially (medial emargination of sixth metasomal tergite 0.64× as long as tergite medially in T. malabaricus sp. nov.).Published as part of Sheeba, M., Ranjith, A. P. & Narendran, T. C., 2017, Review of Testudobracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of four new species from south India, pp. 331-346 in Zootaxa 4232 (3) on pages 341-345, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4232.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/29322
FIGURE 3 in Review of Testudobracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of four new species from south India
No full textFIGURE 3. Testudobracon malabaricus Sheeba sp. nov., female, holotype; (A) Habitus, in lateral view; (B) Head, in anterior view; (C) Head, in dorsal view; (D) Mesosoma, in dorsal view; (E) Head (in part) & mesosoma, in lateral view; (F) Propodeum, in dorsal view.Published as part of Sheeba, M., Ranjith, A. P. & Narendran, T. C., 2017, Review of Testudobracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of four new species from south India, pp. 331-346 in Zootaxa 4232 (3) on page 337, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4232.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/29322
Similarities between the Genomes of H. acinonychis Sheeba and H. pylori 26695 and J99
No full text<div><p>(A) Venn diagram of genomic properties. Numbers in red within each arc represent numbers of genes, each of which may contain multiple CDSs if the corresponding gene is fragmented.</p><p>(B) Age calculations since a common ancestor (LCA) based on synonymous pair-wise distances for 612 conserved genes according to the methods of Li et al., 1985 and the modified Nei-Gojobori method.</p><p>(C) Frequencies of normalized blast scores in pair-wise comparisons between Sheeba and three other genomes.</p></div
Fragmentation Patterns in Ten Genes among Three H. acinonychis Strains
No full text<p>Ten genes that are intact in 26695 but are fragmented in the Sheeba genome (subgroup B) were re-sequenced from strains t1 and HA5141 of subgroup B and BombayA of subgroup A. Black lines indicate sequenced fragments and thick blue arrows indicate CDSs of ≥140 bp. Designations at the top indicate CDS designations in 26695 whereas designations above the Sheeba sequences indicate both the protein name and the CDS designations in Sheeba (Hac0035, Hac0036, etc.).</p
Role of combination bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in the management of relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma
No full textJatin J Shah1, Robert Z Orlowski1,2, Sheeba K Thomas11Departments of Lymphoma/Myeloma; 2Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USAAbstract: The first in class proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (B) received its initial regulatory approval for therapy of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in the relapsed/refractory setting. Modulation of proteasome function, however, is also a rational strategy for chemosensitization, and a variety of agents have shown synergistic activity with bortezomib pre-clinically, including anthracyclines. This formed the basis for evaluation of a regimen of bortezomib with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD). PLD+B, in a phase I study, induced a predictable and manageable toxicity profi le, and showed encouraging anti-MM activity. In a recent international, randomized phase III trial, PLD+B demonstrated a superior overall response rate and response quality compared to bortezomib alone, as well as a longer time to progression, duration of response, progression-free survival, and overall survival. Sub-analyses revealed benefits in almost all clinically relevant subgroups, including several which would be considered to have high-risk disease. These findings have led to the establishment of the PLD+B regimen as one of the standards of care for patients with relapsed and/or refractory myeloma. Efforts are now underway to build on this combination further by adding other active anti-myeloma agents. In this review, we will discuss the role of PLD+B as an important addition to our therapeutic armamentarium for patients with MM.Keywords: multiple myeloma, relapsed/refractory, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, bortezomib, Doxil&reg;, Velcade&reg
Effectiveness of In-service Education Programme on Knowledge and Attitude regarding Integration of Mental Health Nursing concepts among Nurses at selected setting, Chennai
No full textINTRODUCTION:
The theme of WHO for World Mental Health Day for the year 2010 is “Mental health- long term illness the need for continued and integrated care”. It is a unique opportunity to bring attention to the integration of mental health care and long term (chronic) medical illness. It should be used for awareness constituting all target audiences within and beyond the health sector. People who have a psychiatric disorder are more likely to have physical problems and are now more likely to access general hospitals to meet their health needs. A number of studies have demonstrated that the majority of general nurses have difficulty in meeting the needs of patients with mental health problems. Nurses working in general hospitals are concentrating more on physical aspects of care and psychological care is being neglected thereby the psychological problems in chronic physically ill patients remains unnoticed. Creating an awareness through in-service education programme regarding the integration of mental health nursing concepts may help the nurses understand the need, thereby they can provide a holistic care.
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the level of need for in-service education programme, post test level of knowledge and attitude and compare the effectiveness in-service education programme on knowledge and attitude regarding integration of mental health nursing concepts among nurses between group A and group B.
METHODOLOGY:
RESEARCH APPROACH:
Quantitative Research Approach.
RESEARCH DESIGN:
Quasi - experimental post test only design.
SETTING:
Sundaram Medical Foundation, Annanagar, Chennai.
SAMPLE:
60 nurses who fulfilled the sample selection criteria.
MEASUREMENT AND TOOL:
Need assessment scale was used for identifying the need for in-service education programme, Structured knowledge questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge and a four point likert scale was used to assess the level of attitude regarding integration of mental health nursing concepts among nurses. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis.
RESULTS:
1. At the level of need in Group A, 12 (40%) of nurses had moderate level of need and 18 (60%) of nurses had high level of need. Whereas in Group B, 9 (30%) of nurses had moderate level of need and 21 (70%) had high level of need.
2. There is no significant difference in the level of need for in-service education programme between Group A and Group B.
3. At the post test level in Group A, 19 (63.33%) of nurses had adequate knowledge and 11 (36.67%) of nurses had moderately adequate knowledge. Whereas in Group B, 16 (53.33%) of nurses had inadequate knowledge and 14 (46.67%) had moderately adequate knowledge.
4. At the post test level in Group A, 21 (70%) of nurses had favourable attitude and 9 (30%) of nurses had moderately favourable attitude. Whereas in Group B, 13 (43.33%) had unfavourable attitude and 17 (56.67%) of nurses had moderately favourable attitude.
5. There is a significant difference in the post test level of knowledge and attitude between the Group A and Group B.
6. There is no significant association of post test level of knowledge and attitude with selected demographic variables like age in years, gender, religion, marital status, education, designation and total years of experience of nurses in Group A and Group B.
CONCLUSION:
In Group A, majority 19 (63.33%) of nurses had adequate knowledge and 21 (70%) of nurses had favourable attitude in the post test. This shows that the inservice education programme is relevant to enhance knowledge and attitude regarding integration of mental health nursing concepts among nurses.
IMPLICATION:
The important role of nursing in addressing the mental health needs of patients across all health care settings is clearly crucial to its holistic philosophy. The education of both current and future nurses must be viewed as an important step to rectifying the current problem
Design considerations for the use of laser-plasma accelerators for advanced space radiation studies
No full textWe present design considerations for the use of laser-plasma accelerators for mimicking space radiation and testing space-grade electronics. This novel application takes advantage of the inherent ability of laser-plasma accelerators to produce particle beams with exponential energy distribution, which is a characteristic shared with the hazardous relativistic electron flux present in the radiation belts of planets such as Earth, Saturn and Jupiter. Fundamental issues regarding laser-plasma interaction parameters, beam propagation, flux development, and experimental setup are discussed
Who ate whom? Adaptive Helicobacter genomic changes that accompanied a host jump from early humans to large felines
No full textS.1097-1110Helicobacter pylori infection of humans is so old that its population genetic structure reflects that of ancient human migrations. A closely related species, Helicobacter acinonychis, is specific for large felines, including cheetahs, lions, and tigers, whereas hosts more closely related to humans harbor more distantly related Helicobacter species. This observation suggests a jump between host species. But who ate whom and when did it happen? In order to resolve this question, we determined the genomic sequence of H. acinonychis strain Sheeba and compared it to genomes from H. pylori. The conserved core genes between the genomes are so similar that the host jump probably occurred within the last 200,000 (range 50,000-400,000) years. However, the Sheeba genome also possesses unique features that indicate the direction of the host jump, namely from early humans to cats. Sheeba possesses an unusually large number of highly fragmented genes, many encoding outer membrane pro teins, which may have been destroyed in order to bypass deleterious responses from the feline host immune system. In addition, the few Sheeba-specific genes that were found include a cluster of genes encoding sialylation of the bacterial cell surface carbohydrates, which were imported by horizontal genetic exchange and might also help to evade host immune defenses. These results provide a genomic basis for elucidating molecular events that allow bacteria to adapt to novel animal hosts.2Nr.
A semi-structured clinical interview for psychosis sub-groups (SCIPS): development and psychometric properties
No full textBACKGROUND: Clinical sub-groups of schizophrenia, namely drug related, traumatic, anxiety and stress sensitivity sub-types, have been proposed for use in research, training and practice. They were developed on the basis of clinical observation but have not yet been used in research or clinical practice to any great extent. AIMS: To develop a semi-structured clinical interview for psychosis sub-groups (SCIPS) and determine the best diagnostic criteria with the highest inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability and concurrent validity for sub-grouping patients with schizophrenia according to a newly developed classification scheme. METHODS: The SCIPS was developed based upon discussion with the clinician researchers who had developed and were using the sub-groups. Kappa coefficients were calculated between two independent diagnostic assessments with the SCIPS (for inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability, n = 20) and between the SCIPS diagnosis and the sub-groupings as determined independently with highest achievable validity (for concurrent validity, n = 21) for patients with schizophrenia. These inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity were compared among five different sets of diagnostic criteria to determine which was most reliable and valid. RESULTS: A set of diagnostic criteria with the highest inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity was determined. Kappa coefficients (95% confidence interval) for the inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity were 0.93 (0.66-1.20) and 0.73 (0.47-1.00), respectively, with these diagnostic criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The SCIPS is a promising tool with which to sub-group patients with schizophrenia according to this recently developed classification scheme. The semi-structured interview achieves acceptable inter-rater and test-retest reliability and concurrent validity
Who Ate Whom? Adaptive Helicobacter Genomic Changes That Accompanied a Host Jump from Early Humans to Large Felines
No full textHelicobacter pylori infection of humans is so old that its population genetic structure reflects that of ancient human migrations. A closely related species, Helicobacter acinonychis, is specific for large felines, including cheetahs, lions, and tigers, whereas hosts more closely related to humans harbor more distantly related Helicobacter species. This observation suggests a jump between host species. But who ate whom and when did it happen? In order to resolve this question, we determined the genomic sequence of H. acinonychis strain Sheeba and compared it to genomes from H. pylori. The conserved core genes between the genomes are so similar that the host jump probably occurred within the last 200,000 (range 50,000–400,000) years. However, the Sheeba genome also possesses unique features that indicate the direction of the host jump, namely from early humans to cats. Sheeba possesses an unusually large number of highly fragmented genes, many encoding outer membrane proteins, which may have been destroyed in order to bypass deleterious responses from the feline host immune system. In addition, the few Sheeba-specific genes that were found include a cluster of genes encoding sialylation of the bacterial cell surface carbohydrates, which were imported by horizontal genetic exchange and might also help to evade host immune defenses. These results provide a genomic basis for elucidating molecular events that allow bacteria to adapt to novel animal hosts
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