Hierarchical porous carbon derived from petroleum coke via one-step chemical activation for the fabrication of a supercapacitor and real time clock application.

The escalating demand for energy requires highly efficient energy storage devices and advanced materials. Low-cost carbon resources and their derivatives have always been a topical research area. Petroleum coke is an abundant and affordable resource that contributes to the scalability and cost effectiveness of carbon materials. Porous carbon derivatives have acquired great attention for energy storage and conversion owing to their large surface area, environmental friendliness, exceptional electrical conductivity, and economic viability. Thus, in this work, we directly synthesized hierarchical porous carbon materials from oil refinery petroleum coke (pet-coke) using a single-step KOH activation method to utilize them for the fabrication of a coin cell supercapacitor for electronic application. The synthesized pet-coke based porous carbon shows a high specific surface area (1108 m2 g-1) and excellent porosity. After conducting extensive electrochemical analysis, it shows promising specific capacitances of 170 and 70 F g-1 in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively. Further, a coin cell supercapacitor was fabricated using the pet-coke derived porous carbon in an organic electrolyte with a potential window of 2.7 V, demonstrating superior rate capability and durability. The calculated energy and power density of the fabricated coin cell indicate its favorable supercapacitor application to act as a backup power source for real time clock (RTC) application in electronics.

From pigs to wild boars, the rise of African swine fever in India.

African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious transboundary disease of domestic pigs and wild boars. In India, introduction of ASF in early 2020 from outbreaks in domestic pigs reported from two north-eastern states and its further spread to several Indian states inflicted severe losses in pig and pork production. ASF has also been reported in wild boars (Sus scrofa) indicating a local transmission from domestic pigs with a high likelihood that it might attain an endemic status and threaten wildlife conservation by endangering the pygmy hogs (Porcula salvania), the world's smallest wild pig native to this region. To ensure future food security and prevent the implications of ASF in India, biosecurity and border measures, disease control strategies and production systems must be improved and modernized.

Application of machine learning models for risk estimation and risk prediction of classical swine fever in Assam, India.

The present study is aimed to develop an early warning system of Classical swine fever (CSF) disease by applying machine learning models and to study the climate-disease relationship with respect to the spatial occurrence and outbreaks of the disease in the north-eastern state of Assam, India. The disease incidence data from the year 2005 to 2021 was used. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) revealed that significant environmental and remote sensing risk factors like air temperature, enhanced vegetation index, land surface temperature, potential evaporation rate and wind speed were significantly contributing to CSF incidences in Assam. Furthermore, the climate-based disease modelling was applied to relevant ecological and environmental risk factors determined using LDA and risk maps were generated. The western and eastern regions of the state were predicted to be at high risk of CSF with presence of significant hotspots. For the districts that are significantly clustered, the Basic reproduction number (R0) was calculated after the predicted results were superimposed onto the risk maps. The R0 value ranged from 1.04 to 2.07, implying that the eastern and western regions of Assam are more susceptible to CSF. Machine learning models were implemented using R statistical software version 3.1.3. The random forest, classification tree analysis and gradient boosting machine were found to be the best-fitted models for the study group. The models' performance was measured using the Receiving Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, Cohen's Kappa, True Skill Statistics, Area Under ROC Curve, ACCURACY, ERROR RATE, F1 SCORE, and Logistic Loss. As a part of the suggested study, these models will help us to understand the disease transmission dynamics, risk factors and spatio-temporal pattern of spread and evaluate the efficacy of control measures to battle the economic losses caused by CSF outbreaks. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-023-00847-6.

Investigation of congenital tremor associated with Classical swine fever virus genotype 2.2 in an organized pig farm in north-eastern India.

The present study describes an outbreak of Classical swine fever (CSF) in an organized pig farm followed by an episode of CSF virus (CSFV) associated congenital tremors in piglets. The outbreak was recorded in a newly procured herd of Hampshire pigs housed adjacent to the existing pigs of the farm. The recorded CSF outbreak caused a mortality of 100% in the newly procured and 54.28% in the existing herd. As the disease subsides, the clinically recovered boars were served naturally with Tamworth gilts. Though, the sows farrowed on usual gestation period, litters born to each sow showed congenital tremors and eventually died within 24 h of birth. Necropsy analysis of affected piglets was indicative of CSFV infection and was further confirmed using RT-PCR signifying a transplacental infection. The CSFV strains from the initial outbreak and post outbreak episode of congenital tremors were successfully isolated in PK-15 cells and detected in indirect FAT and RT-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis based on E2 gene and 5'NTR of CSFV grouped the isolates within the genotype 2.2 and revealed close resemblance with previously reported Indian isolates of CSFV genotype 2.2 origin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of CSFV induced congenital form reported from India under natural conditions.

Assessment of Risk Factors of African Swine Fever in India: Perspectives on Future Outbreaks and Control Strategies.

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important transboundary diseases of pigs. ASF has been identified in India for the first time in domestic pigs from outbreaks reported in two of the northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in 2020. A total of 11 ASF outbreaks in different regions killed over 3700 pigs and devastated the economy of small-scale livestock owners of both the states. Considering the first outbreak of ASF in India, a generic risk assessment framework was determined to identify potential risk factors that might favor future emergence of the disease. Based on the Indian scenario, we considered population density of host, farming practice, availability of biological vectors and wildlife reservoirs, epidemiological cycles, and international trade to analyze the possibility of future outbreaks of ASF and chances of establishment of endemism. On critical analysis of the identified risk factors associated with ASFV transmission, we observed that the risk factors are well preserved in the Indian geography and might participate in future outbreaks, further disseminating the disease to nearby countries. Since no vaccine is currently available against ASF, the domestic and the wild pigs (wild boars and the endangered pygmy hogs native to India) of this region are under constant threat of infection. For the near future, this region will have to continue to rely on the implementation of preventive measures to avoid the devastating losses that outbreaks can cause. The various adaptive control strategies to minimize the risks associated with the transmission of ASF, keeping our views to Indian settings, have been described. The risk-analysis framework presented in the study will give a further understanding of the dynamics of disease transmission and will help to design control strategies and corresponding measures to minimize the catastrophic consequences of ASF disease.

Development of a process for upscaling and production of thermotolerant Peste-des-petits ruminants vaccine.

Vaccination is the most effective means of preventing Peste-des-petits-ruminants (PPR), an important disease of small ruminant population. The thermolabile nature of PPR vaccine poses a major constraint in shipping, storage and its successful application. In view of limited thermotolerance of PPR virus and ongoing global PPR control and eradication program, development of a thermotolerant PPR vaccine was tried using a novel lyophilization protocol and improved thermostabilization. A lyophilization cycle of 16 h (h) using 200 µl of PPR vaccine virus (stock titre 5.8 log10 TCID50/vial in 200 µl) was developed. For this, five stabilizer formulations were selected out of ten formulations based on the stability of liquid vaccine at 37 °C and three freeze-thaw cycles. Improved thermostabilization of PPR vaccines was obtained by inclusion of 5% trehalose and 0.5% gelatine to Lactalbumin hydrolysate-sucrose (LS) formulations which significantly improved the stability of lyophilized vaccines with a shelf-life of at least 1305.3 days at 2-8 °C, 23.68 days at 25 °C, 20.88 days at 37 °C, 5.01 days at 40 °C and 3.22 days at 45 °C which qualifies the standards of a thermotolerant PPR vaccine as defined by the FAO and OIE. In reconstituted vaccines, the combination of LS, trehalose and gelatin (LSTG) provided a shelf-life of 1.77 days at 37 °C, 22.41 h at 40 °C and 10.05 h at 45 °C. The study suggested that use of the short lyophilization protocol standardized with 200 µl of lyophilized PPR vaccine stabilized with LSTG formulation, can be used to develop and upscale thermotolerant PPR vaccines during national and global PPR control and eradication as targeted by the FAO and OIE by 2030.

Characterization of defective interfering (DI) particles of Pestedes petitsruminants vaccine virus Sungri/96 strain-implications in vaccine upscaling.

The present investigation deals with the characterization of defective interfering (DI) particles of Peste-des-petits ruminants (PPR) vaccine Sungri/96 strain generated as a result of high MOI in Vero cells. During the serial 10 passages, infectivity titres drastically reduced from 6.5 to 2.25 log10TCID50/ml at high MOI. Further, attenuation of CPE with high MOI indicated generation of DI particles that resulted in no/slow progression of CPE during the late passages. Monoclonal antibody based cell ELISA indicated normal protein (N & H) packaging in samples with DI activity. At genomic level, inconsistency in amplicon intensity of H gene was observed in RT-PCR, indicating a possible defect of H gene. Further analysis of copy number of PPRV by RT-qPCR indicated intermittent fluctuations of viral genomic RNA copies. The significant decline of viral RNA copies with MOI 3 (314 copies) compared to low MOI (512804 copies), proved that higher DI multiplicities cause more interference with the replication process of the standard virus. Therefore, MOI is critical for manufacturing of vaccines. These investigations will help in upscaling of PPR vaccines in view of ongoing National and Global PPR control and eradication programme.

An overview of process intensification and thermo stabilization for upscaling of Peste des petits ruminants vaccines in view of global control and eradication.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) has been recognized as a globally distributed disease affecting the small ruminant population. The disease results in severe economic losses mainly to small land holders and low input farming systems. The control of PPR is mainly achieved through vaccination with available live attenuated vaccines. The thermo labile nature of PPR virus poses a major constraint in production of quality vaccines which often results in vaccine failures. The lack of quality vaccine production jeopardize the wide vaccination coverage especially in countries with poor infrastructure due to which PPR persists endemically. The vaccine production system may require augmentation to attain consistent and quality vaccines through efforts of process intensification integrated with suitable stabilizer formulations with appropriate freeze drying cycles for improved thermo tolerance. Manufacturing of live attenuated PPR vaccines during batch cultures might introduce defective interfering particles (DIPs) as a result of high multiplicity of infection (MOI) of inoculums, which has a huge impact on virus dynamics and yield. Accumulation of DIPs adversely affects the quality of the manufactured vaccines which can be avoided through use of appropriate MOI of virus inoculums and quality control of working seed viruses. Therefore, adherence to critical manufacturing standard operating procedures in vaccine production and ongoing efforts on development of thermo tolerant vaccine will help a long way in PPR control and eradication programme globally. The present review focuses on the way forward to achieve the objectives of quality vaccine production and easy upscaling to help the global PPR control and eradication by mass vaccination as an important tool.

Seroprevalence of contagious ecthyma in goats of Assam: An analysis by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

AIM: The objective of this study was to screen the prevalence of contagious ecthyma (CE) among the goat population of Assam owing to its high prevalence rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, a total of 231 serum samples were collected from 12 districts of Assam during September 2013 to July 2014. The serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies against Orf virus (ORFV) by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Indirect ELISA was standardized using purified Orf reference virus produced in bulk in primary lamb testes cells. RESULTS: Studies on seroprevalence showed 76.62% of goats were seropositive. The total number of animals were divided into different age groups starting from 0-2 months, 2-4 months, 4-6 months, and above 8 months and accordingly highest prevalence of antibodies against ORFV was recorded in the age-group above 8 months of age. Significantly, lower rates of infection were observed in goats of age group 2-4 months. This study recorded that seropositivity from naturally infected animals and in contact apparently healthy animals to be 53.67% and 46.32%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that CE is a prevalent infection in goats of Assam, and the healthy population is at increased risk of infection.

Isolation and molecular characterization of Orf virus from natural outbreaks in goats of Assam.

Outbreaks of contagious ecthyma (caused by a Parapox virus) in goats were investigated in 6 districts of Assam, a north eastern state of India. Diagnosis of the disease was carried out employing both standard virological as well as molecular methods. Four representative isolates from different places were selected for phylogenetic analysis. The major envelop protein (B2L) of Orf virus was targeted for molecular analysis. The sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the selected sequences at nucleotide level revealed that the Orf virus isolates were closely related to each other (97.6-100 %) and showed highest similarity to the Orf virus isolate 82/04 (98.4 %), reported from Shahjahanpur, India. The data will provide an insight in transmission of the virus from northern to North eastern part of the country.