RESUMO: Os pesticidas são aplicados no mundo todo para proteger as plantas contra as pragas. No entanto, essa aplicação também causa toxicidade às plantas, o que afeta de forma negativa o crescimento e o desenvolvimento delas. A toxicidade dos pesticidas resulta na redução dos teores de clorofila e proteína, acompanhada de menor eficiência fotossintética das plantas. O estresse causado por pesticidas também gera espécies reativas de oxigênio, que causam estresse oxidativo às plantas. Para atenuar os efeitos negativos do estresse oxidativo, o sistema de defesa antioxidante das plantas é ativado, e isso inclui antioxidantes enzimáticos e não enzimáticos. A presente revisão fornece uma visão geral de várias respostas fisiológicas de plantas sob toxicidade de pesticidas, em forma de tabela.

ABSTRACT: Pesticides are applied all over the world to protect plants from pests. However, their application also causes toxicity to plants, which negatively affects the growth and development of plants. Pesticide toxicity results in reduction of chlorophyll and protein contents, accompanied by decreased photosynthetic efficiency of plants. Pesticide stress also generates reactive oxygen species which causes oxidative stress to plants. To attenuate the negative effects of oxidative stress, the antioxidative defense system of plants gets activated, and it includes enzymatic antioxidants as well as non-enzymatic antioxidants. The present review gives an overview of various physiological responses of plants under pesticide toxicity in tabulated form.

Abstract The distributed static synchronous compensator (DSTATCOM) has emerged as an indispensable compensator element in the management of reactive power demand in distributed power management systems as well as grid connected systems. The DSTATCOM maintains the voltage at the point of common coupling (PCC) and at the DC link voltage across the DC link capacitor. For these two purposes, there are two independent controllers and these controllers are predominantly of PI types. Tuning the PI controller is a challenging exercise. In this paper, a novel method for tuning the PI controllers using particle swarm optimization is presented. By MATLAB SIMULINK simulation it is shown that the particle swarm optimization-tuned PI controller performs better than the traditional Ziegler-Nichols technique-tuned PI controller. In order to validate the proposed idea, an experimental setup has also been constructed with a PIC16F877A micro controller as the central control element and as a scale down physical model of the DSTATCOM.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an extremely variable genetic disorder that can affect virtually any organ in the body. Disease manifestations continue to develop over the lifetime of an affected individual. Many manifestations can be life threatening; appropriate surveillance and management are necessary to limit morbidity and mortality in this disease. We report a case of an 8-year-old girl with TSC and bilateral renal cell carcinoma, which is usually thought to be a complication diagnosed in adulthood. Our report emphasises the need for frequent surveillance and renal imaging in paediatric patients with TSC.

The generation of electricity using wind power is significantly increasing and has received considerable attention in recent years. One important problem with the induction generator based wind farms is that they are vulnerable to voltage disturbances and short circuit faults. Any such disturbance may cause wind farm outages. Since wind power contribution is in considerable percentage, such outages may lead to power system stability issues and also violate the grid code requirements. Thus, improving the reliability of wind farms is essential to maintain the stability of the system. The proposed strategy is to use Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR), which is one of the promising devices to compensate the voltage disturbance and to improve the stability of the system. It provides the wind generator with the fault ride through capability and improves the reliability of the system. Extensive simulation results are included to illustrate the operation of DVR and fault compensation.

Bihar, India has been in the grip of kala-azar for many years. Its rampant and severe spread has made life miserable in most parts of the state. Such conditions require a comprehensive understanding of this affliction. The numbers coming out of the districts prone to the disease in the north and south Ganges have provided us with several startling revelations, as there are striking uniformities on both sides, including similar vegetation, water storage facilities, house construction and little change in risk factors. The northern areas have been regularly sprayed with DDT since 1977, but eradication of the disease appears to be a distant dream. In 2007 alone, there were as many as 37,738 cases in that region. In contrast, the southern districts of Patna and Nalanda have never had the disease in its epidemic form and endemic disease has been present in only some pockets of the two districts. In those cases, two rounds of spraying with DDT had very positive results, with successful control and no new established foci. In addition, an eleven-year longitudinal study of the man hour density and house index for the vector Phlebotomus argentipes demonstrated that they were quite high in Patna and Nalanda and quite low in north Bihar. Given these facts, an attempt has been made to unravel the role of P. argentipes saliva (salivary gland) in the epidemiology of kala-azar. It was determined that patchy DDT spraying should be avoided for effective control of kala-azar.

India is home to a number of venomous species. Every year in harvesting season, a large number of productive citizens are envenomed by such species. For efficient medical management of the victims, identification of the aggressor species as well as assessment of the envenomation degree is necessary. Species identification is generally based on the visual description by the victim or a witness and is therefore quite likely to be erroneous. Symptomatic identification remains the only available method. In a previous published work, the authors proposed a classification table for snake species based on manifested symptoms applicable in Indian subcontinent. The classification table serves the purpose to a great deal but as a manual method it demands human expertise. The current paper presents a neural network-based symptomatic species identification system. A symptom vector is fed as input to the neural network and the system yields the most probable species as well as the envenomation severity as the output. The severity status can be very helpful in calculating the antivenom dosage and in deciding the species-specific prognostic measures for efficient medical management.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the rates, timing and causes of neonatal deaths and the burden of stillbirths in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. We discuss the implications of our findings for neonatal interventions. METHODS: We used verbal autopsy interviews to investigate 1048 neonatal deaths and stillbirths. FINDINGS: There were 430 stillbirths reported, comprising 41% of all deaths in the sample. Of the 618 live births, 32% deaths were on the day of birth, 50% occurred during the first 3 days of life and 71% were during the first week. The primary causes of death on the first day of life (i.e. day 0) were birth asphyxia or injury (31%) and preterm birth (26%). During days 1-6, the most frequent causes of death were preterm birth (30%) and sepsis or pneumonia (25%). Half of all deaths caused by sepsis or pneumonia occurred during the first week of life. The proportion of deaths attributed to sepsis or pneumonia increased to 45% and 36% during days 7-13 and 14-27, respectively. CONCLUSION: Stillbirths and deaths on the day of birth represent a large proportion of perinatal and neonatal deaths, highlighting an urgent need to improve coverage with skilled birth attendants and to ensure access to emergency obstetric care. Health interventions to improve essential neonatal care and care-seeking behavior are also needed, particularly for preterm neonates in the early postnatal period.

OBJETIVO: Evaluar las tasas, el momento y las causas de la mortalidad neonatal y la carga de mortinatalidad en zonas rurales de Uttar Pradesh (India). Consideramos aquí las implicaciones de nuestros resultados para las intervenciones neonatales. MÉTODOS: Utilizamos entrevistas de autopsias verbales para investigar 1048 defunciones neonatales y prenatales. RESULTADOS: Se notificaron 430 casos de muerte prenatal, que suponían el 41% de todas las defunciones de la muestra. Entre los 618 nacidos vivos, el 32% de las defunciones se produjeron en el mismo día de nacimiento, el 50% se produjeron durante los 3 primeros días de vida, y el 71% se registraron durante la primera semana. Las causas principales de defunción en el primer día de vida (día 0) fueron la asfixia y los traumatismos (31%) y la prematuridad (26%). Durante los días 1 a 6, las causas más frecuentes de muerte fueron la prematuridad (30%) y una septicemia o neumonía (25%). La mitad de todas las defunciones por septicemia o neumonía se produjeron durante la primera semana de vida. La proporción de defunciones atribuidas a septicemia o neumonía aumentó al 45% y el 36% durante los días 7 - 13 y 14 - 27, respectivamente. CONCLUSIÓN: Las muertes prenatales o en el primer día de vida representan una gran proporción de las defunciones perinatales y neonatales, lo que pone de manifiesto la necesidad urgente de mejorar la cobertura con parteras calificadas y de garantizar el acceso a la atención obstétrica de urgencia. También es necesario implementar intervenciones de salud que mejoren la atención neonatal básica y el comportamiento de búsqueda de atención, en particular para los recién nacidos prematuros en el periodo posnatal temprano.

OBJECTIF: Évaluer les taux, la répartition dans le temps et les causes des décès néonataux et de la charge de mortinatalité dans une population rurale de l'Uttar Pradesh, en Inde. Les implications des résultats de l'étude pour les interventions en santé néonatale sont ensuite examinées. MÉTHODES: On a analysé 1048 cas d’enfants mort-nés ou décédés pendant la période néonatale à partir des interrogatoires réalisés dans le cadre des autopsies verbales. RÉSULTATS: Le nombre de cas d’enfants mort-nés notifiés s'élevaità 430, soit 41 % de l'ensemble des décès dans l'échantillon. Sur les 618 enfants nés vivants, 32 % sont morts le jour de la naissance, 50 % au cours des 3 premiers jours de vie et 71 % pendant la première semaine. Les principales causes de décès au premier jour de vie (appelé jour 0) étaient l'asphyxie ou les traumatismes à la naissance (31 %) et la naissance avant terme (26 %). Pendant les jours 1 à 6, les causes de décès les plus fréquentes étaient la naissance avant terme (30 %) et la présence d'une infection grave ou d'une pneumonie (25 %). La moitié des décès par infection grave ou par pneumonie se produisaient pendant la première semaine de vie. La proportion de décès attribuablesà une infection grave ou à une pneumonie passait à 45 % et à 36 % pour les périodes allant du 7e au 13e jours et du 14e au 27e jours respectivement. CONCLUSION: La mortinatalité et les décès intervenant le jour de la naissance représentent une fraction importante des décès périnataux et néonataux, ce qui met en lumière la nécessité urgente d'améliorer la couverture des naissances par des accoucheurs compétents et de garantir l'accès à des soins obstétricaux d'urgence. Des interventions sanitaires visant à améliorer les soins néonataux essentiels et les comportements en matière de recours aux soins, en particulier pour les nouveaux-nés prématurés au début de la période postnatale, s'imposent également.

Snakebites, being the major occupational hazard for farm workers, claim a large number of lives in the Indian subcontinent. During the course of medical management, identification of the biting species is given a low priority, resorting to prescription of polyvalent anti-snake venom. Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends monospecific anti-snake venom instead of polyvalent anti-snake venom. Thus, it is essential to identify the aggressor species either by a visual inspection or by the symptoms of the victim. Along with the four deadly venomous species (cobra, krait, Russell's viper, and saw-scaled viper), there are a number of other species of medical importance, whose venoms and bites have not been paid much attention. Thus, a misclassification resulting into erroneous treatment cannot be ruled out. This paper discusses the nature, constitution, and toxicity of venoms and their possible toxic effects on victims of snakebites. An attempt has also been made to categorize the distinctive symptoms due to the bites of the four major venomous species and their severity grading.

The manuscript describes a study on the blood cholinesterase (ChE) level in an exposed population at different interval of time after spraying with malathion suspension (SRES) use for kala-azar vector control in an endemic area of Bihar, India. The toxicity of a 5% malathion formulation in the form of a slow release emulsified suspension (SRES) was assessed by measuring serum ChE levels in spraymen and in the exposed population.The study showed a significant decrease in ChE levels in the spraymen (p < 0.01) after one week of spraying and in exposed population one week and one month after of spraying (p < 0.01), but was still within the normal range of ChE concentration, one year after spraying, the ChE concentration in the exposed population was the same as prior to spraying (p > 0.01). On no occasion was the decrease in ChE level alarming. A parallel examination of the clinical status also showed the absence of any over toxicity or any behavioural changes in the exposed population. Hence, it may be concluded that 5% malathion slow release formulation, SRES, is a safe insecticide for use as a vector control measure in endemic areas of kala-azar in Bihar, India so long as good personal protection for spraymen is provided to minimize absorption and it can substitute the presently used traditional DDT spray.