Probiotic potential of a novel endophytic Streptomyces griseorubens CIBA-NS1 isolated from Salicornia sp. against Vibrio campbellii infection in shrimp.

A novel endophytic Streptomyces griseorubens CIBA-NS1 was isolated from a salt marsh plant Salicornia sp. The antagonistic effect of S. griseorubens against Vibrio campbellii, was studied both in vitro and in vivo. The strain was validated for its endophytic nature and characterized through scanning electron microscopy, morphological and biochemical studies and 16SrDNA sequencing. The salinity tolerance experiment has shown that highest antibacterial activity was at 40‰ (16 ± 1.4 mm) and lowest was at 10 ‰ salinity (6.94 ± 0.51 mm). In vivo exclusion of Vibrio by S. griseorubens CIBA-NS1 was studied in Penaeus indicus post larvae and evaluated for its ability to improve growth and survival of P. indicus. After 20 days administration of S. griseorubens CIBA-NS1, shrimps were challenged with V. campbellii. The S. griseorubens CIBA-NS1 reduced Vibrio population in test group when compared to control, improved survival (60.5 ± 6.4%) and growth, as indicated by weight gain (1.8 ± 0.05g). In control group survival and growth were 48.4 ± 3.5% and 1.4 ± 0.03 g respectively. On challenge with V. campbellii, the S. griseorubens CIBA-NS1 administered group showed better survival (85.6 ± 10%) than positive control (64.3 ± 10%). The results suggested that S. griseorubens CIBA-NS1 is antagonistic to V. campbellii, reduce Vibrio population in the culture system and improve growth and survival. This is the first report on antagonistic activity of S. griseorubens isolated from salt marsh plant Salicornia sp, as a probiotic candidate to prevent V. campbellii infection in shrimps.

Vertical transmission and prevalence of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in the wild spawning population of the Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus.

White spot disease, caused by white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), has historically been the most devastating disease in shrimp aquaculture industry across the world. The mode of virus transmission is the most crucial stage in the dynamics and management of virus infection. This study explored the mechanism of vertical transmission of WSSV in Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus, potential native species for domestication and genetic improvement, using quantitative real time PCR (q RT PCR), light and electron microscopy, and in situ hybridization. Wild brooders of P. indicus (n = 2576) were sampled along the South east coast of India, during 2016 to 2021. Of these âˆ¼ 58 % of the brooders were positive for WSSV, and almost 50 % of infected wild brooders were at the various stages of reproductive maturation. WSSV-PCR positive brooders (n = 200) were analysed for vertical WSSV transmission. The q RT PCR studies of reproductive tissues revealed that 61 % (n = 13) of spermatophore, 54 % (n = 28) of immature ovaries and 48 % (n = 27) of ripe ovaries were infected with WSSV. The lowest level of infection was recorded in females with ripe ovaries (6.84 × 101 ± 9.79 × 100 ng genomic DNA) followed by fertilized eggs (1.59 × 102 ± 3.69 × 101 ng genomic DNA), and larvae (nauplius and zoea). The histology of gravid females with high WSSV copies showed pyknotic and karyorrhectic germinal vesicle with degenerated cortical rods. Conversely, the gravid females with low WSSV copies showed fully developed ovary without characteristic signs of WSSV infection. Transmission electron microscopic studies clearly established the presence of WSSV particles in both ovaries and spermatophores. When subjected to in situ hybridization, WSSV-specific signals were observed in connective tissues of spermatophore, although gravid ovary and fertilized eggs were failed to produce WSSV specific signals. The present study provides the first molecular and histological evidence for trans-ovarian vertical transmission of WSSV. Development of disease-free base population being the cornerstone and first step in establishing the breeding program, the present findings could be a basis for development of such programs.

Microbial community composition associated with early developmental stages of the Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus.

Gut microbiota is known to influence the physiology, health, nutrient absorption, reproduction, and other metabolic activities of aquatic organisms. Microbial composition can influence intestinal immunity and are considered as health indicators. Information on gut microbial composition provides potential application possibilities to improve shrimp health and production. In the absence of such information for Penaeus indicus, the present study reports the microbial community structure associated with its early developmental stages. Bacterial community associated with the early developmental stages (egg, nauplii, zoea, mysis, PL1, PL6 and PL12) from two hatchery cycles were analysed employing 16S rRNA high throughput sequencing. Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, were the two dominant phyla in P. indicus development stages. Sequential sampling revealed the constant change in the bacterial composition at genus level. Alteromonas was dominant in egg and nauplii stage, whilst Ascidiaceihabitans (formerly Roseobacter) was the dominant genera in both PL6 and PL12. The bacterial composition was highly dynamic in early stages and our study suggests that the mysis stage is the critical phase in transforming the microbial composition and it gets stabilised by early post larval stages. This is the first report on the composition of microbiota in early developmental stages of P. indicus. Based on these results the formation of microbial composition seems to be influenced by feeding at early stages. The study provides valuable information to device intervention strategies for healthy seed production.

Review of the Kimminsula-complex (Ephemeroptera, Leptophlebiidae).

Distribution of the Kimminsula complex is limited by mountains of the Western Ghats in India and the Central Highlands in Sri Lanka. Indian taxa include the new genus Ghatula gen. n. with 2 new species, Ghatula rufa sp. n. (type species of Ghatula, described here from larvae of both sexes, female subimago, female imago and eggs associated by rearing) and Ghatula quadrimaculata sp. n. (described here from larvae of both sexes); and the genus Petersula Sivaramakrishnan 1984 with type species Petersula courtallensis Sivaramakrishnan 1984 (additionally described here from larvae of both sexes, female subimagines, female imagines and eggs associated by rearing), Petersula heptagenoides sp. n. (described here from larvae, subimagines, imagines of both sexes and eggs associated by rearing) and Petersula nathani Sivaramakrishnan & Hubbard 1984 (known as a single male imago). In Sri Lanka the Kimminsula complex is represented by the following taxa: the new genus Ceylonula gen. n. with the single species Ceylonula femoralis (Hagen 1858) comb. n. (originally in Potamanthus; redescribed here from larvae, subimagines, imagines of both sexes and eggs associated by rearing); the genus Kimminsula Peters & Edmunds 1970 with type species Kimminsula taprobanes (Walker 1853) [= Kimminsula annulata (Hagen 1858)] (redescribed here from larvae, subimagines, imagines of both sexes and eggs associated by rearing), Kimminsula fasciata (Hagen 1858) (redescribed here from larvae, subimagines, imagines of both sexes and eggs associated by rearing), Kimminsula podi sp. n. (described here from larvae, male subimagines, male imagines and eggs associated by rearing) and Kimminsula latifolia sp. n. (described here from larvae); a form intermediate between K. fasciata and K. taprobanes is described here from larvae, subimagines, imagines of both sexes and eggs associated by rearing; and the new genus Hubbardula gen. n. with the single species Hubbardula heterolepida sp. n. (described here from larvae, subimagines, imagines of both sexes and eggs associated by rearing). Systematic position of the Kimminsula-complex is discussed.

Morphological, electronic, and magnetic properties of multicomponent cobalt oxide nanoparticles synthesized by high temperature arc plasma.

Many technological applications demand large amount of nanoparticles with well-defined properties, which is feasible only by using large-scale production methods. In this framework, we have performed structural and local geometric investigations of cobalt oxide nanoparticles synthesized by high temperature arc plasma route in helium and in air atmosphere with different arc currents, a competitive and low cost technological approach to synthesize large quantity of different types of nanoparticles. The complex scenario of phase fraction, shape, size distribution and hysteresis loop features of high temperature arc plasma synthesis of nanoparticles can be determined by the arc current and the selected gas. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal a multicomponent phase formation containing cubic cobaltous oxide (CoO), cobaltic oxide (Co3O4) and metallic cobalt phases. The synthesis of different phases is confirmed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements at the CoK-edge. Both extended x-ray absorption fine structure and x-ray absorption near edge structure analyses show the presence of metallic nanoparticles in He ambient at high arc current. Moreover, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images and magnetic hysteresis loop measurements show that the mean particle size increases and the coercivity decreases with increasing arc current in air ambient due to the intense particle-particle interaction. At variance, in He ambient synthesized samples due to the high quenching rate and the high thermal conductivity, a multi-domain formation in which the nanoparticles' crystalline fraction decreases and a fluctuating coercivity due to core-shell structure is observed.

Large scale synthesis of copper nickel alloy nanoparticles with reduced compressibility using arc thermal plasma process.

Among the various methods employed in the synthesis of nanostructures, those involving high operating temperature and sharp thermal gradients often lead to the establishment of new exotic properties. Herein, we report on the formation of Cu-Ni metallic alloy nanoparticles with greatly enhanced stiffness achieved through direct-current transferred arc-thermal plasma assisted vapour-phase condensation. High pressure synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) at ambient temperature as well as XRPD in the temperature range 180 to 920 K, show that the thermal arc-plasma route resulted in alloy nanoparticles with much enhanced bulk modulus compared to their bulk counterparts. Such a behaviour may find an explanation in the sudden quenching assisted by the retention of a large amount of local strain due to alloying, combined with the perfect miscibility of the elemental components during the thermal plasma synthesis process.

A new species of Isonychia Eaton, 1871 (Ephemeroptera: Isonychiidae) from Kapila River, Central Western Ghats, India.

Isonychia (Isonychia) radhae n. sp. is described based on larvae and imagoes from Kapila River, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka State, India. The imagoes of I. radhae n. sp. can be distinguished from the other known Oriental species by the following combination of characters: (i) absence of rusty brown maculae in the costal, subcostal, and median areas of forewing; (ii) forelegs dark brown except coxae; (iii) Scattered barbs present in penis; (iv) Second segment of gonostylus long and slender; and (v) sterna of abdominal segment X in female not deeply cleft. Isonychia radhae n. sp. can be distinguished in the larval stage from other known Oriental species by the following combination of characters: (i) tergites II-IV without distinct stripe medially, tergites V-X with a pair vague oblique stripe; (ii) abdominal terga II-IX with median dark brown maculae progressively larger with dark brown slanting streaks in lateral margins; (iii) gills I and II small, tracheae of abdominal gills I-VII unbranched; (iv) postero-lateral projection on anterior segments of abdomen blunt and small, acute on segments VIII-IX and large at on segment IX; (v) median terminal filament slightly shorter than 1/3 length of cerci; (vi) distal segments of cerci dark, basal ¾ of mesal margin of cerci and lateral margin of terminal filament with long thin setae. Revised keys to the known larvae and male imagoes of Oriental species of Isonychia are also provided.

Phylogenetic relations and mitogenome-wide similarity metrics reveal monophyly of Penaeus sensu lato.

Splitting of the genus Penaeus sensu lato into six new genera based on morphological features alone has been controversial in penaeid shrimp taxonomy. Several studies focused on building phylogenetic relations among the genera of Penaeus sensu lato. However, they lack in utilizing full mitochondrial DNA genome of shrimp representing all the six controversial genera. For the first time, the present study targeted the testing of all the six genera of Penaeus sensu lato for phylogenetic relations utilizing complete mitochondrial genome sequence. In addition, the study reports for the first time about the complete mitochondrial DNA genome sequence of Fenneropenaeus indicus, an important candidate species in aquaculture and fisheries, and utilized it for phylogenomics. The maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches were deployed to generate and comprehend the phylogenetic relationship among the shrimp in the suborder, Dendrobranchiata. The phylogenetic relations established with limited taxon sampling considered in the study pointed to the monophyly of Penaeus sensu lato and suggested collapsing of the new genera to a single genus. Further, trends in mitogenome-wide estimates of average amino acid identity in the order Decapoda and the genus Penaeus sensu lato supported restoration of the old genus, Penaeus, rather promoting the creation of new genera.

Expression dynamics of solute carrier family 15 member 4 (SLC15A4) and its potential regulatory role in ovarian development of the Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus.

Solute carrier proteins (SLC) are essential membrane transport proteins responsible for transporting lipids, amino acids, sugars, neurotransmitters, and drugs across the biological membranes. Dysfunction of these carrier proteins may lead to an imbalance of biological mechanisms and also in the failure of the transporting pathways of several signaling neurotransmitters. In the present study, a 646 bp of a solute carrier protein (SLC15A4) was cloned and sequenced from the Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus. Multiple sequence alignment using ClustalW and phylogenetic analysis of putative SLC15A4 fragment from P. indicus (PiSLC15A4) was performed using Mega X tool. Tissue distribution analysis was carried out using real-time PCR. The differential expressions of PiSLC15A4 were also analyzed in the ovaries and brain tissues of wild-caught female shrimps at different maturation stages and in the brain tissues of captive females subjected to induce maturation by eyestalk ablation. Significant diversity in SLC15A4 sequence obtained from P. indicus was observed when compared to the other species. Tissue distribution analysis confirmed the ubiquitous expression of PiSLC15A4 in all the tissues examined. The differential expressions of PiSLC15A4 indicated higher expression of the gene in brain tissue of females at the vitellogenic stage, while the expressions in ovaries were significantly higher in the immature stage. The differential expressions of PiSLC15A4 in the brain tissues were substantially higher in eyestalk ablated shrimps compared to the eyestalk intact females. The study suggests a role for SLC15A4 in the endocrine signaling pathways stimulating ovarian maturation in P. indicus.

Development of Big Data Predictive Analytics Model for Disease Prediction using Machine learning Technique.

Now days, health prediction in modern life becomesvery much essential. Big data analysis plays a crucial role to predict future status of healthand offerspreeminenthealth outcome to people. Heart disease is a prevalent disease cause's death around the world. A lotof research is going onpredictive analytics using machine learning techniques to reveal better decision making. Big data analysis fosters great opportunities to predict future health status from health parameters and provide best outcomes. WeusedBig Data Predictive Analytics Model for Disease Prediction using Naive Bayes Technique (BPA-NB). It providesprobabilistic classification based on Bayes' theorem with independence assumptions between the features. Naive Bayes approach suitable for huge data sets especially for bigdata. The Naive Bayes approachtrain the heart disease data taken from UCI machine learning repository. Then, it was making predictions on the test data to predict the classification. The results reveal that the proposed BPA-NB scheme providesbetter accuracy about 97.12% to predict the disease rate. The proposed BPA-NB scheme used Hadoop-spark as big data computing tool to obtain significant insight on healthcare data. The experiments are done to predict different patients' future health condition. It takes the training dataset to estimate the health parameters necessary for classification. The results show the early disease detection to figure out future health of patients.

Influence of He and N2 plasma on in situ surface passivated Fe nanopowders by plasma arc discharge.

DC transferred arc plasma method was employed for the synthesis of core (Fe)-shell (Fe oxide) nanopowders under N2 and He atmospheres. The phase and elemental compositions were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. The structural and magnetic properties were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Mössbauer spectroscopy. XRD and EDS results confirmed the presence of iron and iron oxide. From HRTEM, the average particle sizes of 32, 47 and 71 nm and 20, 26 and 37 nm were obtained against processing currents of 50, 100 and 150 A under N2 and He atmospheres respectively. The average particle size values were found to increase with increases in processing current. Spherical and hollow hexagonal nano-structures were obtained under N2 atmosphere whereas spherical and distorted cubes were formed under He atmosphere. The elemental mapping revealed the presence of oxygen on the surface and Fe in the core of the nanoparticles.

Characterization and expression profile of farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase gene from Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus.

Methyl farnesoate (MF), a sesquiterpenoid synthesized in the mandibular organ, regulates many physiological processes in crustaceans including growth and reproduction. In the present study, farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase (FAMeT), the key enzyme responsible for final step conversion of farnesoic acid (FA) to methyl farnesoate (MF), was cloned and characterized from the nervous tissues of Penaeus indicus. Multiple sequence alignment, prediction of conserved domain regions, phosphorylation sites identification and phylogenetic analysis indicated that putative FAMeT fragment from P. indicus (PiFAMeT), shares a high degree of sequence identity to FAMeT proteins isolated from other crustaceans species. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed ubiquitous expression of PiFAMeT in all the tissues examined, with comparative higher mRNA levels in nervous tissue and ovary. Additionally, the levels of PiFAMeT also showed gradual increase of expression correlating with the advancement in ovarian maturation. Further to support their role in promoting ovarian development, serotonin treatment (5HT, 50 µg/g body weight) was given to eyestalk intact and unilaterally eyestalk ablated females which resulted in significant increase in PiFAMeT transcript levels at day 7 and day 14. The relatively higher levels of PiFAMeT, reflecting higher levels of MF, suggest a role during secondary vitellogenesis thereby regulating ovarian development in P. indicus. Further research is required to understand the synergistic interaction of MF pathways with serotonergic and other regulatory pathways in regulating ovarian maturation in penaeid shrimps.

Defective iron-oxide nanoparticles synthesised by high temperature plasma processing: a magnetic characterisation versus temperature.

Magnetic properties and phase compositions of iron-oxide nanoparticles synthesised by a high temperature arc plasma route have been investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy and high harmonic magnetic AC susceptibility measurements, and correlated with morphological and structural properties for different synthesis conditions. The Mössbauer spectra precisely determined the presence of different iron-oxide fractions in the investigated nanoparticles, while the high harmonic magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed the occurrence of metastable magnetic phases evolving in temperature and time. This study illustrates magnetic properties and dynamics of the magnetic configurations of iron-oxide nanoparticles grown by high temperature plasma, a process less explored so far but extremely useful for synthesising large numbers of nanoparticles for industrial applications.

DNA sequence information resolves taxonomic ambiguity of the common mud crab species (Genus Scylla) in Indian waters.

For several years, mud crabs of genus Scylla have been misidentified owing to their high morphological plasticity and the absence of distinct morphological diagnostic characters. The taxonomic confusion of genus Scylla de Haan is considered to be a primary constraint to the development of aquaculture. Although genus Scylla was revised using morphological and genetic characteristics, taxonomy of Scylla species occurring in India is still not clear. In this study, partial sequences of two mitochondrial genes, 16S rRNA and CO1 (Cytochrome C oxidase subunit I) in populations of Scylla spp. obtained from eleven locations along the Indian coast were used to differentiate and resolve taxonomical ambiguity of the mud crab species in India. The sequences were compared with previously published sequences of Scylla spp. Both trees generated based on 16S rRNA and CO1 indicated that all S. tranquebarica morphotypes obtained during this study and S. tranquebarica sequences submitted previously from Indian waters reciprocally monophyletic with reference sequence of S. serrata. Both sequence data and morphological characters revealed that the species S. serrata (Forskal) is the most abundant followed by S. olivacea. Further, the 16S rRNA and COI haplotypes of Indian S. tranquebarica obtained in the study significantly differed with the known S. tranquebarica by 6.7% and 10.6% respectively whereas it differed with known S. serrata by 0.0-0.7% only, a difference that was not statistically significant. From these studies it is clear that "S. tranquebarica" commonly reported from India should be S. serrata (Forskal).

DNA record of some traditional small millet landraces in India and Nepal.

Despite the extensive use of small millet landraces as an important source of nutrition for people living in semi-arid regions, they are presently marginalized and their diversity and distribution are threatened at a global scale. Local farmers have developed ancient breeding programs entrenched in traditional knowledge (TK) that has sustained rural cultures for thousands of years. The convention on biological diversity seeks fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources arising from local knowledge and requires signatory nations to provide appropriate policy and legal framework to farmers' rights over plant genetic resources and associated TK. DNA barcoding employed in this study is proposed as a model for conservation of genetic diversity and an essential step towards documenting and protecting farmers' rights and TK. Our study focuses on 32 landraces of small millets that are still used by indigenous farmers located in the rain fed areas of rural India and Nepal. Traditional knowledge of traits and utility was gathered using participatory methods and semi-structured interviews with key informants. DNA was extracted and sequenced (rbcL, trnH-psbA and ITS2) from 160 samples. Both multivariate analysis of traits and phylogenetic analyses were used to assess diversity among small millet landraces. Our research revealed considerable variation in traits and DNA sequences among the 32 small millet landraces. We utilized a tiered approach using ITS2 DNA barcode to make 100 % accurate landrace (32 landraces) and species (six species) assignments for all 160 blind samples in our study. We have also recorded precious TK of nutritional value, ecological and agricultural traits used by local farmers for each of these traditional landraces. This research demonstrates the potential of DNA barcoding as a reliable identification tool and for use in evaluating and conserving genetic diversity of small millets. We suggest ways in which DNA barcodes could be used in the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights in India and Nepal.

Efficacy of sub lethal concentration of entomopathogenic fungi on the feeding and reproduction of Spodoptera litura.

In the present investigation, impact of sub lethal concentrations of entomopathogenic fungi, namely Isaria fumosorosea, Beauveria bassiana and Paecilomyces variotii, secondary metabolite on feeding, growth, fecundity and hatchability of Spodoptera litura was performed. The S. litura treated with I. fumosorosea and B. bassiana metabolites exhibited renounced food consumption. The growth rate of treated S. litura with metabolite of I. fumosorosea had drastic reduction. In the case of approximate digestibility (AD), maximum impact was established by the I. fumosorosea isolate, which significantly reduced the approximate digestibility of the IV and V instar larvae. The III instar larvae of S. litura treated with I. fumosorosea metabolite showed significantly lower efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) and efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) values than IV and V instars. However the performance of metabolites on fecundity and hatchability of S. litura was immense. Therefore, metabolites of I. fumosorosea could be reliable biocontrol agent, which has been highly recommended for S. litura management in commercial crops.

Contribution to the knowledge of Tenuibaetis Kang & Yang 1994, Nigrobaetis Novikova & Kluge 1987 and Labiobaetis Novikova & Kluge 1987 (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) from the Western Ghats (India).

As part of ongoing exploration of the mayflies of hill streams of southern Western Ghats, we describe two new species: Nigrobaetis paramakalyani Kubendran & Balasubramanian n. sp. and Labiobaetis jacobusi Kubendran & Balasubramanian n. sp. The genus Nigrobaetis is reported for the first time from India. Tenuibaetis frequentus (Müller-Liebenau & Hubbard 1985) n. comb. was also collected in this area and we provide the first description of this species at the imaginal stage. Brief ecological notes of the three species are added.

Extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Bacillus megaterium against malarial and dengue vector (Diptera: Culicidae).

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles has provoked nowadays and alternative to physical and chemical approaches. In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized extracellular method using Bacillus megaterium. The AgNPs formations were confirmed initially through color change, and the aliquots were characterized through UV-visible spectrophotometer, followed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. The surface plasmon resonance band was shown at 430 nm in UV-vis spectrophotometer. The bioreduction was categorized through identifying the compounds responsible for the AgNP synthesis, and the functional group present in B. megaterium cell-free culture was scrutinized using FTIR. The topography and morphology of the particles were determined using SEM. In addition, this biosynthesized AgNPs were found to show higher insecticidal efficacy against vector mosquitoes. The LC50 and LC90 were found to be 0.567, 2.260; 0.90, 4.44; 1.349, 8.269; and 1.640, 9.152 and 0.240, 0.955; 0.331, 1.593; 0.494, 2.811; and 0.700, 4.435 with respect to the first, second, third, and fourth instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti. All the calculated χ (2) values are highly significant compared with the tabulated value. Therefore, B. megaterium-synthesized silver nanoparticles would be used as a potent larvicidal agent against Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. aegypti.

An improved insecticidal activity of silver nanoparticle synthesized by using Sargassum muticum.

A highly active silver nanoparticle (SmAgNps) was synthesized in the present study by using Sargassum muticum extract. The instrumentations such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to reveal the nanoparticle morphology and size. The insecticidal activities of SmAgNps against Ergolis merione reveals prominent changes in the protein profile of hemolymph, morphology of hemocytes, and deteriorated midgut inclusions such as lumen, basement membrane, fat body, and gastric caeca. From this study, it was observed that phytochemicals of S. muticum was a prominent precursor for the synthesis of highly active nanoparticles.

A new species of Labiobaetis (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) from the southern Western Ghats in India, with comments on the taxonomic status of Labiobaetis.

A new species of Labiobaetis Novikova & Kluge, 1987, Labiobaetis soldani sp. nov., is described from the larvae and reared male and female imagoes from Gadana River in the southern Western Ghats in India. Brief ecological notes are appended. The taxonomic status of Labiobaetis is commented on in light of the morphological traits of the larvae and associated imagoes.