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While medicinal plants are in high demand worldwide for their therapeutic properties, they can constitute a health concern to consumers when contaminated with mycotoxins. The unavailability of standardised methods for multiclass mycotoxin analysis to assess health risks has thus been realised. This study reports a simple, robust and precise method to estimate nine regulated mycotoxins in a range of Indian medicinal plant matrices including giloy (Tinospora cordifolia), ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum), satavari (Asparagus racemosus) and tulsi (Ocimum sanctum). The sample preparation method involved extraction of homogenised matrices (12.5 g) using methanol:water (8:2, 100 mL) followed by cleanup through a multi-mycotoxin immunoaffinity column (IAC), which significantly reduced matrix interferences. The method was initially developed and validated using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous analysis of aflatoxins (B

In order to provide stability of anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant, encapsulant was made by utilizing two biopolymers that can be used further for the targeted release due to its intrinsic structure. Present study was carried out to encapsulate anthocyanin in coacervate employing pectin and chitosan. Entrapment efficiency of anthocyanin was evaluated in coacervates prepared in nine different combinations employing three concentration each of pectin (40, 50 and 60 mg mL−1) and chitosan (5, 6 and 7 mg mL−1) in presence of CaCl2. The developed formulation was characterised by FT-IR, XRD and SEM techniques, which clearly depicts ionic interaction between chitosan and pectin. Release pattern of anthocyanin from the coacervate followed Korsmeyer-Peppas model. The n-values calculated from the curves suggested a quasi-Fickian diffusion pattern pH 1.7 and 4.0. However, at pH 7.0, the behaviour of release was presumed to be an anomalous or case-II transport. In-vitro study revealed that bioaccessibility (%) of coacervated formulation (24.3 ± 0.5) was significantly higher than crude extract (12.2 ± 1.0) as well as purified anthocyanin crystals (18.9 ± 0.7). Better bioaccessibility of coacervated anthocyanin provided important information about its potential use in functional foods.

The first aim of this paper is to introduce a class of Markov chains on $\mathbb{Z}_+$ which are discrete self-similar in the sense that their semigroups satisfy an invariance property expressed in terms of a discrete random dilation operator. After showing that this latter property requires the chains to be upward skip-free, we first establish a gateway relation, a concept introduced in [26], between the semigroup of such chains and the one of spectrally negative self-similar Markov processes on $\mathbb{R}_+$. As a by-product, we prove that each of these Markov chains, after an appropriate scaling, converge in the Skorohod metric, to the associated self-similar Markov process. By a linear perturbation of the generator of these Markov chains, we obtain a class of ergodic Markov chains, which are non-reversible. By means of intertwining and interweaving relations, where the latter was recently introduced in [27], we derive several deep analytical properties of such ergodic chains including the description of the spectrum, the spectral expansion of their semigroups, the study of their convergence to equilibrium in the $\Phi$-entropy sense as well as their hypercontractivity property., Comment: 50 pages

Following the extraction of essential oil, citrus (Mousambi, Kinnow, and Orange) peel wastes were used to produce pectin. The yield of essential oil and pectin was maximum in orange. Pectin was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. The degree of esterification (DE) and methoxyl content (MC) was maximum in orange whereas, the equivalent weight was maximum in Mousambi. A significant increase (61.8%) in the

Domestic dogs have descended from gray wolves through a process of domestication, evolving from a predominantly hunting to a scavenging lifestyle. Though the exact process of domestication is not yet clearly understood, various behavioral adaptations in dogs are considered to have been crucial to the development of the unique bond shared by dogs and humans. Similarly, an enhanced ability to digest carbohydrates has been suggested as a major adaptation that enabled dogs to adapt to life among humans. Free-ranging dogs in India mostly subsist on a carbohydrate-rich diet but a set of choice tests have revealed that they can use a Rule of Thumb to locate meat, thereby maximizing their protein intake. However, it has never been tested whether they use this Rule of Thumb to preferentially feed on meat in the context of scavenging, especially when they have to find food among garbage. They often compete with conspecifics as well as other scavenging species and are also sometimes threatened by humans during scavenging. Under such constraints, preferential feeding might not be a feasible option. We carried out a choice test on 68 free-ranging dogs on urban streets, simulating scavenging from dustbins, to test whether they use the Rule of Thumb in scavenging situations. The dogs were provided with three choices of baskets filled with garbage mixed with either bread pieces (10), chicken pieces (10) or both (5 + 5). The dogs did apply the Rule of Thumb to eat the protein first, but did not discard the carbohydrate. They utilized a Sniff-and-Snatch strategy for maximizing meat uptake from the noisy background of garbage. This is a highly efficient scavenging strategy that can help them to maximize food intake, while allowing them to eat the most preferred food first, and has perhaps been adaptive for their survival in a highly heterogenous human-dominated environment.

This article proposes a practical and scalable version of the tight clustering algorithm. The tight clustering algorithm provides tight and stable relevant clusters as output while leaving a set of points as noise or scattered points, that would not go into any cluster. However, the computational limitation to achieve this precise target of tight clusters prohibits it from being used for large microarray gene expression data or any other large data set, which are common nowadays. We propose a pragmatic and scalable version of the tight clustering method that is applicable to data sets of very large size and deduce the properties of the proposed algorithm. We validate our algorithm with extensive simulation study and multiple real data analyses including analysis of real data on gene expression.

Cohabiting with humans in the same ecological space requires significant variation in the behavioral repertoire of animals. Behavioral variation can potentially improve the chances of survival of an individual. The influence of humans can be measured by quantifying specific behavioral parameters of the interacting individuals. Sociability or the tendency to be friendly toward others is one of many personality traits in animals that can provide us with insights regarding their relationship with humans. Free-ranging dogs are one of the successful urban-adapted species that interact with humans regularly, which, in turn, influences their behavioral properties. In this study, we tested 600 adult dogs from 60 sites across India, categorized as high, low, and intermediate human flux zones, to understand their degree of sociability toward an unfamiliar human. Initially, a "positive vocalization phase" was carried out. Unresponsive dogs were further tested in a "stimulus phase." The first phase was characterized by positive vocal sounds, while the second one included both food and positive vocalization. In addition, we surveyed a total of 1,200 people from the 60 sites to understand their perception of free-ranging dogs. Dogs in the IF zones were highly sociable compared to the other zones. High human flux zone dogs were reluctant to approach initially but showed an increased approach when food was provided. Low human flux zone dogs were the least sociable, and even the food reward had minimal impact on them. Our study provides the first evidence of behavioral variation in the degree of sociability of free-ranging dogs in urban environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Carissa carandas L., belongs to Apocynaceae family, is a coloured fruit rich in pigments. Anthocyanins present in the fruit was characterised by High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS). Upon HPLC analysis, single anthocyanin was identified as cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. Further analysis by HRMS showed presence of other seven minor anthocyanins in the fruit. Minor anthocyanins were cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, delphinidin-3-O-galactoside, delphinidin-3-O-glucoside, delphinidin-3-O-rutinoside, 5-Carboxypyranopelargonidin-3-O-beta-glucopyranoside, delphinidin and peonidin-3-O-arabinoside. Total anthocyanin content was obtained as 108.6 mg kg−1. In DPPH assay, EC50 value obtained for purified anthocyanin was 52.93 μg ml−1 whereas for crude and phenolics fraction were 83.42 and 87.44 μg mL−1, respectively. Bioaccessibility of crude and purified anthocyanins were ranged between 12 and 19%. Higher content of anthocyanin in the fruit makes it suitable as promising source of natural colorant for nutraceutical utilization.

Background: As a powerful antioxidant and natural colorant, anthocyanins are being used increasingly as a component of food supplements and nutraceutical products. Hence, its characterization is a prerequisite for further exploration of its nutraceutical potential. UV-Vis and MS are the two important techniques, which have been largely employed for the qualitative and quantitative determination of anthocyanins. However, a comprehensive review of the applications of these techniques in literature is scarce. Objective: This paper aims to review the utilization of UV-Vis spectral data as well as mass spectral data for characterization and putative identification of anthocyanins with approaches of quantification. Methods: The techniques described in literature have been thoroughly reviewed and comparatively evaluated. The complementary approaches of UV-Vis and MS spectra have been discussed for identification and quantification of these compounds. Results: Valuable information about the chemical composition and structure of anthocyanins can be predicted from the UV-Vis spectral data, such as number and type of glycosylation as well as absence or presence of acylation, to name a few. It is also pointed out that for their structural confirmation, selectivity of mass detectors with unit and high-resolution analysis could be effective. Conclusions: The combination of LC-MS with UV-Vis spectroscopy provides complementary information on structural details of anthocyanins. In case the analytical reference standards are available, a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer provides selectivity and quantitative sensitivity in analysis. On the other hand, high-resolution MS analysis provides valuable information for tentative identification during nontarget screening of compounds when the reference standard is not available. Highlights: This paper reviews the applications of UV-Vis spectroscopy and LC-MS for qualitative and quantitative analysis of anthocyanins.

The benefits of group living mostly surpass the disadvantages like sharing of resources and competition over food, space and mates, driving the evolution of social organization. Group living can be facilitated by social tolerance and cooperation among the group members. Social canids (e.g. wolves) display cooperative breeding, hunting, and prosocial activities in different contexts. Unlike cooperative pack-living wolves (Canis lupus lupus), their descendants, domesticated dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), show varying levels of associations from solitary to stable social groups. Free-ranging dogs are group-living but prefer to forage solitarily, hence providing an excellent opportunity for investigating social tolerance and coordinated task performance among the members in various situations. We tested 113 adult-only groups of free-ranging dogs in three different tasks to investigate group responses and performance in problem-solving situations in the presence of an unfamiliar human. Task 1 (unfamiliar, single food reward) and 2 (familiar, single food reward) examined group responses and cooperation from the perspective of familiarity, while Task 3 (familiar, multiple food rewards) enabled us to test whether increased food rewards promote social tolerance and food sharing among the group members. Regardless of significantly higher performance in Task 2 compared to Task 1, cooperation and food sharing were significantly lower in both. Task 3 revealed a strong positive correlation between food sharing and social tolerance, but not between success and social tolerance, suggesting a tendency for cooperation. We conclude that context-dependent cooperation and tolerance among group members facilitate group-living in free-ranging dogs.Significance statementGroup living is a common phenomenon in the animal world where the members of a group show social tolerance and co-operative behaviours towards each other. This need for cooperative intents increases manifolds while groups face different problem-solving situations in their day to day lives. Here, we tested a large number of free-ranging dog groups to understand general cooperative intents such as social tolerance and food sharing in different problem-solving conditions. We found shreds of evidence of context-dependent cooperation and social tolerance among group members with minimal display of aggression. It is not adaptive for the dogs to fight or display aggression over resources. Alternatively, use of subtle cues such as display of dominance and subordination seem to be more plausible mechanisms for the development of efficient scavenging strategies and maintaining hierarchy.

Differences in pet dogs' and captive wolves' ability to follow human communicative intents have led to the proposition of several hypotheses regarding the possession and development of social cognitive skills in dogs. It is possible that the social cognitive abilities of pet dogs are induced by indirect conditioning through living with humans, and studying free-ranging dogs can provide deeper insights into differentiating between innate abilities and conditioning in dogs. Free-ranging dogs are mostly scavengers, indirectly depending on humans for their sustenance. Humans can act both as food providers and as threats to these dogs, and thus understanding human gestures can be a survival need for the free-ranging dogs. We tested the responsiveness of such dogs in urban areas toward simple human pointing cues using dynamic proximal points. Our experiment showed that pups readily follow proximal pointing and exhibit weaker avoidance to humans, but stop doing so at the later stages of development. While juveniles showed frequent and prolonged gaze alternations, only adults adjusted their behaviour based on the reliability of the human experimenter after being rewarded. Thus free-ranging dogs show a tendency to respond to human pointing gestures, with a certain level of behavioural plasticity that allows learning from ontogenic experience.

This paper presents a new device and a method for dynamic manipulation. The device consists of a planar robotic arm and an elastic beam as an end-effector. Using it the elastic end-effector will tend to increase performance and energy efficiency while executing dynamic and repetitive tasks. Through the control of the beam vibration and resonant modes, we modify the state of manipulated objects. For lightweight objects the control is provided through the intermittent contacts without changing dynamics of the beam. However, we show that by using proper synchronization technique continuous-phase contacts are also possible. Juggling and dribbling of a ball are considered to be an alternating non-prehensile catching and throwing task. Such alternating decelerating and accelerating impacts on the ball and the curvature of the beam at the time of impact will stabilize the cyclic orbit of the ball. By proper analysis of continuous-time contact and dynamics of the beam we establish a rhythmic movement of the system. With the variation of frequency and amplitude of the beam it is possible to switch between different dynamic actions such as juggling, dribbling, throwing, catching and balancing.

Melt spun ribbon of Fe73Ga27 was prepared and characterized for microstructural features and magnetostriction. The phase equilibria observed from structural investigations have been correlated with Mossbauer studies. The magnetostriction of the melt spun ribbon has been found to be significantly large compared to the bulk sample. The large magnetostriction is attributed to the absence of ordered fcc (L12) phase in the melt spun ribbon, which is otherwise seen in slow cooled bulk Fe73Ga27 alloy.

Structure and soft magnetic properties of melt spun Fe88Zr7B4Cu1 alloy have been investigated using x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. On decreasing the cooling rate the structure of as spun ribbon changes from completely amorphous to a cellular structure of bcc solid solution along with the amorphous phase at intercellular regions. Annealing leads to the precipitation of nanocrystalline bcc-Fe phase from both amorphous phase and already existing bcc solid solution. The saturation magnetization increases sharply for all samples on annealing at 500 °C due to the precipitation of nanocrystalline bcc phase and then remains almost constant at higher annealing temperatures. The coercivity decreases initially with annealing temperature, attains a minimum value and then increases at higher temperature.