The efficacy of indoor CDC light traps for collecting the sandfly Phlebotomus argentipes, vector of Leishmania donovani

The efficacy of light traps for collecting sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) varies both inter-specifically and intra-specifically (by gender and physiological status) as a result of significant differences in phototropic and other behavioural characteristics. The efficacy of miniature CDC light traps for collecting Phlebotomus argentipes Annandale & Brunetti, a vector of Leishmania donovani Laveran & Mesnil (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), was assessed in the Indian state of Bihar. Sandflies were collected during the night from 16 houses in each of three villages over 3 months (four times at fortnightly intervals) using CDC light traps indoors, and by aspirator collection (carried out by one person for 30 min/house) from the walls of the same houses the following morning. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) between CDC light trap collections and aspirator collections were obtained through a negative binomial regression with household as random effect. CDC light traps were especially effective in catching males (IRR 3.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.12-4.46) and unfed females (IRR 3.50, 95% CI 2.37-5.16) of P. argentipes, and to a lesser extent gravids (IRR 1.77, 95% CI 1.07-2.93). However, only a relatively small proportion of all blood-fed P. argentipes were collected by light trap (IRR 0.45, 95% CI 0.28-0.73). Despite its limitations in collecting blood-fed female sandflies, the CDC light trap appears to trap a sufficient proportion of the indoor population of sandflies for sampling purposes, and as this light trap is also more convenient and more easily standardized than the aspirator method, we conclude that it is the most efficient method for monitoring P. argentipes populations in the Indian subcontinent.     

Geography of underweight and overweight among women in India: A multilevel analysis of 3204 neighborhoods in 26 states

We investigated the geographic distribution and the relationship with neighborhood wealth of underweight and overweight in India. Using multilevel modeling techniques, we calculated state-specific smoothed shrunken state residuals of overweight and underweight, neighborhood and state variation of nutritional status, and the relationships between neighborhood wealth and nutritional status of 76,681 women living in 3204 neighborhoods in 26 Indian states. We found a substantial variation in overweight and underweight at the neighborhood and state levels, net of what could be attributed to individual-level factors. Neighborhood wealth was associated with increased levels of overweight and decreased levels of underweight, and was found to modify the relationship between personal living standard and nutritional status. These findings suggest that interventions to address the double burden of undernutrition and overnutrition in India must take into account state and neighborhood characteristics in order to be successful.     

Soral crypsis: protective mimicry of a coccid on an Indian fern

Herbivory with crypsis is not well documented in ferns. The present record of cryptic coloration of coccid Saissetia filicum Boisduval (Homoptera: Coccidae) to the sori of a fern species Asplenium nidus L. (Aspleniaceae) is unique. Predatory beetles (Jauravia sp., Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) that feed on the coccids, are suggested to be selective pressure for the development of the present homopteran soral crypsis. A higher rate of effective predation is noticed in the vegetative leaves than the fertile leaves. Aggressive ants were found harvesting honeydew secretions from the coccids and defending the trophobionts as well as the host fern from their natural enemies. In addition, a possible three-way mutualistic relationship among the coccids, its host fern and the tending ant is suggested. Differential numbers of coccids on vegetative and fertile leaves is correlated with their phenol content and degree of predation by beetles. Such coloration mimicry by the coccids may enable them to obtain the necessary blend of sorus of the host fern needed to evade beetle detection and attack.     

Simplified milk-recording protocols adapted to low-input environments with very small herd size

Milk production data from Holstein × Zebu cows in small farms (2.4 cows per farm on average) in Maharashtra, India, followed by Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF), an Indian non-governmental organisation, were analysed to evaluate the impact of simplified milk-recording systems. The aim was to investigate, in developing tropical areas, less-costly protocols compared with the one currently implemented at BAIF, used as a reference. The latter can be considered an 'AT2' protocol with the recording made by specialised technicians at 2-week intervals. The simplified protocols were simulated from an initial data file by sampling test days according to each protocol. Bias and accuracy on the 305-day cow milk production and on the resulting reliability of the estimated breeding value of bulls were the criteria used in the comparison with the reference protocol. One type of simplified protocol considered an increase in the interval between two tests to at least 4 and up to 8 weeks. Another alternative studied corresponded to the situation where milk yield information measured by the farmer is collected by the artificial insemination technicians themselves when visiting a farm. This could be an option in the case of very small herd sizes (two or three cows). The results suggest that simplifying the current milk-recording protocol leads to a clear decrease in accuracy of estimating 305-day cow production but it has a limited effect on the reliability of bull proofs. No economic comparison was carried out, but the results strongly suggest that properly managed simplified milk-recording schemes could permit a substantial decrease of costs of milk recording per cow without damaging the efficiency of progeny testing in tropical areas with small herd size. Moreover, with the proposed simplified milk-recording protocols, up to three to four times more bulls could be tested with the same number of records.     

HIV and tuberculosis in India

The global impact of the converging dual epidemics of tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the major public health challenges of our time. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 9.2 million new cases of TB in 2006 of whom 7.7% were HIV-infected. Tuberculosis is the most common opportunistic infection in HIV-infected patients as well as the leading cause of death. Further, there has been an increase in rates of drug resistant tuberculosis, including multi-drug (MDRTB) and extensively drug resistant TB (XDRTB), which are difficult to treat and contribute to increased mortality. The diagnosis of TB is based on sputum smear microscopy, a 100-year old technique and chest radiography, which has problems of specificity. Extra-pulmonary, disseminated and sputum smear negative manifestations are more common in patients with advanced immunosuppression. Newer diagnostic tests are urgently required that are not only sensitive and specific but easy to use in remote and resource-poor settings. Treatment of HIV-TB co-infection is complex and associated with high pill burden, overlapping drug toxicities, risk of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) and challenges related to adherence. From a programmatic point of view, screening of all HIV-infected persons for tuberculosis and vice-versa will help identify co-infected patients who require treatment for both infections. This requires good coordination and communication between the TB and AIDS control programs, in India.     

Characterization and Pathogenic Relationships of Rhizoctonia solani Isolates in a Potato–Rice System and their Sensitivity to Fungicides

Potato is planted after rice in several parts of Punjab in India and both crops are attacked by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn. Potato tubers showing black scurf and rice plants affected by sheath blight were collected from different regions of the state and the isolates of R. solani so obtained were studied to determine their variability and to ascertain their cross-infectivity and response to fungicides. Potato isolates of R. solani did not infect rice plants but some rice isolates were weakly pathogenic on potato, the sclerotia being less firmly attached on tuber surface, indicating a possible unsuccessful attempt of rice isolates to infect potato. Rice isolates (66.6%) grew faster (>20 mm colony growth per 24 h) than those of the potato isolates (15–20 mm growth rate per 24 h). Hyphal width of isolates from both hosts varied from 7.2 to 12.1 μm. Colony growth of most potato isolates (61.2%) was appressed, whereas that of most rice isolates (53.3%) was fluffy. Rice isolates (73.3%) formed larger sclerotia (1.5–2.0 mm in diameter) than those of the potato isolates (0.5–1.0 mm in diameter). Anastomosis studies indicated that potato isolates belonged to AG-3 and AG-5 groups while rice isolates belonged to the AG-1-1-A group. Representative R. solani isolates from the two hosts showed significant variation in response to fungicides (i.e. carbendazim, carboxin, pencycuron, propiconazole and validamycin) based on their ED₅₀ and ED₉₀ values.     

A new forest cover map of continental southeast Asia derived from SPOT‐VEGETATION satellite imagery

Question: Can recent satellite imagery of coarse spatial resolution support forest cover assessment and mapping at the regional level? Location: Continental southeast Asia. Methods: Forest cover mapping was based on digital classification of SPOT4‐VEGETATION satellite images of 1 km spatial resolution from the dry seasons 1998/1999 and 1999/2000. Following a geographical stratification, the spectral clusters were visually assigned to land cover classes. The forest classes were validated by an independent set of maps, derived from interpretation of satellite imagery of high spatial resolution (Landsat TM, 30 m). Forest area estimates from the regional forest cover map were compared to the forest figures of the FAO database. Results: The regional forest cover map displays 12 forest and land cover classes. The mapping of the region's deciduous and fragmented forest cover remained challenging. A high correlation was found between forest area estimates obtained from this map and from the Landsat TM derived maps. The regional and sub‐regional forest area estimates were close to those reported by FAO. Conclusion: SPOT4‐VEGETATION satellite imagery can be used for mapping consistently and uniformly the extent and distribution of the broad forest cover types at the regional scale. The new map can be considered as an update and improvement on existing regional forest cover maps.     

印度北方河流中主要鲤科鱼类卡拉鲃的年龄和生长

为了获得印度北部赣达（Ganga）盆地河流中野生卡特拉鲃种群的年龄结构和重要生长参数,对该鱼的年龄和生长进行了研究。鳞片取自商业捕捞和实验室饲养的样品。根据研究分析,该鱼最大年龄可达8龄;巴吉拉蒂河（Bhagirathi R.）的种群平均体长为521.51 mm,退算体长为288.9 -1132.3 mm;旁遮普邦（Punjab）Satluj河种群平均体长为641.6 mm,退算体长为335.4 -1096.08 mm。2龄时,种群线性生长率（Cl）和体重增加率（Cw）表现出迅速下降的趋势。其它生长参数值（Clt）也呈现快速下降。退算体长差异（ANOVA）分析显示,生活在赣达盆地不同流域中的种群, 1^＋-4^＋龄组的长度差异较明显（P〈0.05） ,高龄组（5^＋-8^＋）差异不显著。根据本项研究结果,提出了对印度北部赣达盆地相关河流中生活的野生卡特拉鲃种群资源持续利用的对策。     

Detailed mtDNA genotypes permit a reassessment of the settlement and population structure of the Andaman Islands

The population genetics of the Indian subcontinent is central to understanding early human prehistory due to its strategic location on the proposed corridor of human movement from Africa to Australia during the late Pleistocene. Previous genetic research using mtDNA has emphasized the relative isolation of the late Pleistocene colonizers, and the physically isolated Andaman Island populations of Island South-East Asia remain the source of claims supporting an early split between the populations that formed the patchy settlement pattern along the coast of the Indian Ocean. Using whole-genome sequencing, combined with multiplexed SNP typing, this study investigates the deep structure of mtDNA haplogroups M31 and M32 in India and the Andaman Islands. The identification of a so far unnoticed rare polymorphism shared between these two lineages suggests that they are actually sister groups within a single haplogroup, M31'32. The enhanced resolution of M31 allows for the inference of a more recent colonization of the Andaman Islands than previously suggested, but cannot reject the very early peopling scenario. We further demonstrate a widespread overlap of mtDNA and cultural markers between the two major language groups of the Andaman archipelago. Given the "completeness" of the genealogy based on whole genome sequences, and the multiple scenarios for the peopling of the Andaman Islands sustained by this inferred genealogy, our study hints that further mtDNA based phylogeographic studies are unlikely to unequivocally support any one of these possibilities.