Raiganj University

Aim: To investigate the extent of insecticide resistance in H. theivora within Assam's tea-growing areas and to understand the defence mechanism that contribute to its development. Methodology: Adult population of H. theivora from an organic tea plantation were collected for susceptible laboratory culture and other seven adult populations were collected from major tea-growing parts of Assam following conventional practices and reared under controlled laboratory conditions. The leaf dip method was used to conduct concentration mortality bioassays with thiamethoxam, deltamethrin and quinalphos. Biochemical assays were carried out to assess the activity of major detoxifying enzymes in the insects, including general esterases involved in hydrolysis, oxidative enzymes of cytochrome P450 family, and transferases that conjugate glutathione to xenobiotics. Furthermore, synergistic assays with piperonyl butoxide and diethyl maleate were carried out to evaluate their influence on the efficacy of insecticides. Results: Resistance to thiamethoxam and deltamethrin was quite significant, with resistance coefficients ranging 2.04-22.14 and 1.56-23.90 times, respectively. All tested populations remained susceptible to quinalphos (RC<1). Increased enzyme activities exhibited a strong positive correlation with LC50 values, while the use of synergists significantly improved the insecticide efficacy. Interpretation: The findings highlight the field-evolved resistance in H. theivora and its association with elevated detoxifying enzymes. This study recommends the strategic use of insecticides, rotation, and synergists for better resistance management, contributing to more sustainable pest control in tea plantations. Key words: Esterase, H. theivora, Insecticides, Tea mosquito bug

Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods have been applied to various ranking problems in finance, engineering, and management; however, many traditional methods rely on data normalization and fixed weights assigned to the criteria. Often, such data normalization has led to distortion of ordinal information and inconsistent results. In this study, we propose an RL-based framework for solving MCDM problems when the decision data are ranked. The ranking task was then reformulated as a learning-to-rank optimization problem, where the preference scores are assigned to alternatives and learned by maximizing agreement with a benchmark ranking. The proposed approach was first illustrated with a simple example and then applied to the real-world evaluation of banks using the CAMELS criteria. The results showed that the RL-based approach achieved greater consistency with benchmark rankings than normalization-based MCDM methods, thereby extending the applicability of rank-preserving approaches.

Background: Elevated urine albumin creatinine ratio has been implicated in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Arteriolosclerosis is an important causative factor for branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). There is a dearth of literature on the urine albumin creatinine ratio and BRVO. Aims and Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine whether an elevated level of urine albumin creatinine ratio be predictive of increased risk of BRVO in non‑diabetic population. Materials and Methods: Urine albumin creatinine ratio was assayed in 100 adult BRVO cases, and 100 age and sex matched controls in this 1-year-old case–control study. Results: There was a significant elevation of urine albumin creatinine ratio in BRVO patients (88.2±12.4 mg/g) in comparison to controls (18.5±4.1 mg/g) in our study. Analysis also showed that an elevated urine albumin creatinine ratio was a risk factor for BRVO, with an odds ratio=10.02. Conclusion: Health care professionals are urged to screen for the urine albumin creatinine ratio to provide substantial clinical and economic benefits to BRVO patients.

The resurgence of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a natural cyclical phenomenon with an inter-epidemic period of 10-15 years. It might be due to the persistence of a silent parasite pool amongst post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) and asymptomatic leishmanial infection (ALI). The present study targeted to find out the obstacles for unearthing and proper management of the hidden parasite pool for prevention of the resurgence of VL in erstwhile endemic districts of West Bengal, India. Two strategies were employed to identify the latent parasite reservoirs: follow-up of individuals having a previous history of VL and/or PKDL and limited mass sero-surveillance within a 500-m radius of recently treated VL and PKDL. Diagnosed PKDL and VL cases were treated and ALI were followed up. A total of 95 new PKDL and 70 relapse PKDL were diagnosed during the entire study period; those remained undiagnosed in spite of ongoing case searching methods recommended by the national VL elimination programme. 'Relapse PKDL'-a new challenge for VL elimination has been identified. The incidence of PKDL declined steadily during successive study years. Limited mass survey revealed 17 VL, 2 PKDL and 124 ALI. Most of the ALI sero-reverted during the follow up period and 2 of them converted to disease VL. The present work revealed three major obstacles. First, identification of the occult parasite pool may be resolved by applying the searching methods used in this study. Second, case confirmation of 'relapse PKDL' may be achieved by examining slit skin samples at the local level by existing staff with proper training. Alternative short duration treatment strategy for the treatment of new and relapse PKDL is needed. Third, considering the long inter-epidemic period and observed declining trend of incident PKDL, such surveillance should be continued for 10-15 years for the prolonged post-elimination phase and finally to achieve eradication.