Revision of the high-altitude genus Hyphinomos Uvarov, 1921 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) with a redescription and new data on mating behavior and acoustic signals of H. svenhedini Ramme, 1950.

High mountains are known for their unique habitats and extreme climatic conditions. Many inhabitants of this area are specialists and are known as hypsobionts. Among Ensifera, only selected species from different genera are true hypsobionts. Species in the genus Hyphinomos are one of them. Hyphinomos occurs only between 3800 and 5500 m a.s.l., and is known from two species, fasciata Uvarov, 1921 and svenhedini Ramme, 1950. Until recently they were both known only from their type localities situated in mountain ranges of the Himalayas. In this paper, we amend the description of H. svenhedini by adding new data on its distribution, habitat, structure of the male genitalia, stridulatory structures, acoustic signals (long-distance and courtship), and mating behavior. In addition, we have revised the description of Hyphinomos.

A new species of the genus Platycleis Fieber, 1853 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) from the Western and Trans Himalayas, India.

In India, the genus Platycleis was known only from P. kashmira (Uvarov, 1930). A new species, P. rahmoiensis sp. nov., with its type locality in Pulwama, Jammu Kashmir, Western Himalayas is described in this study. Additional specimens collected from the Ladakh region of the Trans Himalayas, India, indicate its broader distribution. The new species is described with detailed external and internal characters together with a dichotomous key for its distinction from P. kashmira. Based on the new species, we also report data on the acoustic signal from the genus for the first time from India.

Venom peptides in association with standard drugs: a novel strategy for combating antibiotic resistance - an overview.

Development of antibiotic resistance that leads to resurgence of bacterial infections poses a threat to disease-free existence for humankind and is a challenge for the welfare of the society at large. Despite research efforts directed towards treatment of pathogens, antibiotics within new improved classes have not emerged for years, a fact largely attributable to the pharmacological necessities compelling drug development. Recent reversion to the use of natural products alone or in combination with standard drugs has opened up new vistas for alternative therapeutics. The success of this strategy is evident in the sudden interest in plant extracts as additives/synergists for treatment of maladies caused by drug-resistant bacterial strains. Animal venoms have long fascinated scientists as sources of pharmacologically active components that can be exploited for the treatment of specific ailments and should be promoted further to clinical trials. In the present review, we outline the scope and possible methods for the applications of animal venoms in combination with commercial antibiotics to offer a better treatment approach against antibiotic-resistant infections.

Venom peptides in association with standard drugs: a novel strategy for combating antibiotic resistance - an overview

Development of antibiotic resistance that leads to resurgence of bacterial infections poses a threat to disease-free existence for humankind and is a challenge for the welfare of the society at large. Despite research efforts directed towards treatment of pathogens, antibiotics within new improved classes have not emerged for years, a fact largely attributable to the pharmacological necessities compelling drug development. Recent reversion to the use of natural products alone or in combination with standard drugs has opened up new vistas for alternative therapeutics. The success of this strategy is evident in the sudden interest in plant extracts as additives/synergists for treatment of maladies caused by drug-resistant bacterial strains. Animal venoms have long fascinated scientists as sources of pharmacologically active components that can be exploited for the treatment of specific ailments and should be promoted further to clinical trials. In the present review, we outline the scope and possible methods for the applications of animal venoms in combination with commercial antibiotics to offer a better treatment approach against antibiotic-resistant infections.(AU)

Studies on the therapeutic effect of propolis along with standard antibacterial drug in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infected BALB/c mice.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance is an emerging public health problem. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described antibiotic resistance as one of the world's most pressing health problems in 21st century. WHO rated antibiotic resistance as "one of the three greatest threats to human health". One important strategy employed to overcome this resistance is the use of combination of drugs. Many plants, natural extracts have been shown to exhibit synergistic response with standard drugs against microorganisms. The present study focused on the antibacterial potential of propolis in combination with the standard antibiotic Cefixime against the typhoid causing bacteria i.e. Salmonella. METHODS: Ethanolic extract of propolis was taken for the present work. For the experiment BALB/c mice were taken as animal model and divided into ten groups. Along with normal and infected control groups, four different combinations of cefixime and propolis were used. Biochemical, hematological and histopathological indices were studied by following the standard protocols. RESULTS: In BALB/c mice, Salmonella causes severe biochemical, hematological and histopathological alterations by 5th day of infection. Ethanolic extract of propolis at a dose of 300 mg/kg body weight of mice when used alone to treat Salmonella infection in mice gave significant results by 30th day of treatment. Similarly, when cefixime (4 mg/kg body weight of mice) was used to treat infection in mice, significant results as compared to infected control were observed after 5th day. But when propolis and cefixime were used together in different concentrations in combination therapy, evident results were observed after 5 days of treatment. The levels of various liver and kidney function enzymes, blood indices and the histopathology of liver, spleen and kidney were restored to near normal after 5 days of treatment and at much lower doses as compared to the effective dose when used alone. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed that significant results were observed in three combinations of cefixime and propolis as compared to infected controls. Propolis acted synergistically with cefixime and enhanced the efficacy of antibiotic and reduced its effective dose in combined therapy.

In vivo Studies on the Protective Effect of Propolis on Doxorubicin-Induced Toxicity in Liver of Male Rats.

OBJECTIVE: Since anticancer drugs are to be administered for long durations of time and are associated with systemic toxicities, the present studies were conducted to evaluate the protective potential of honey bee propolis against a widely used anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DXR) induced toxicity and oxidative damage in liver tissues of rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen male Sprague Dawley rats, weighing between 200-220 g, were used and were divided into four equal groups. Propolis was given orally to rats [250 mg/kg body weight (bw) for 14 consecutive days] and DXR [25 mg/kg bw; intraperitoneally (i.p) was administered on 12(th), 13(th) and 14(th) day of the experiment. All the animals were sacrificed on day 15(th) day by decapitation. Blood and tissue samples were collected for measurement of toxicity and oxidative damage parameters (enzymatic assays and biochemical estimations). RESULTS: Administration of DXR for 3 days at a cumulative dose of 25 mg/kg bw, induced toxicity and oxidative stress in rats as significantly decreased activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione reductase (GR) were observed in rat liver supernatants when compared to control group. Increased activity of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) was obtained in DXR administered rats. Also there are significantly increased levels of lipid peroxides (measured as malondialdehyde formation) and significantly decreased level of glutathione (GSH) in doxorubicin treated rat liver supernatants as compared to healthy controls. On the other hand, administration of animals with propolis prior to DXR treatment led to significant modulation of the oxidative damage related parameters in liver and hepatotoxicity parameters in blood, when compared to doxorubicin treated group. However results were still not comparable to control group or only propolis group indicating partial protection by propolis at the concentration used against anticancer drug toxicity. CONCLUSION: Propolis extract was found to have a protective effect against doxorubicin-induced toxicity in rat liver though it was still not normalized. It can be concluded that propolis provides partial protection from toxicity of anticancer drug.

Studies on Megachile Latreille subgenus Callomegachile Michener (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) from Chandigarh and Haryana plains, India.

Floral associations of three species of Megachile (Callomegachile) from NW India are provided: M. (C.) disjuncta, M. (C.) cephalotes and M. (C.) lerma. Morphological characters of both sexes and the male genitalia of each species are presented and illustrated. All three species are new records for Union Territory (Chandigarh) and Haryana in India.

Exposure to cell phone radiations produces biochemical changes in worker honey bees.

The present study was carried out to find the effect of cell phone radiations on various biomolecules in the adult workers of Apis mellifera L. The results of the treated adults were analyzed and compared with the control. Radiation from the cell phone influences honey bees' behavior and physiology. There was reduced motor activity of the worker bees on the comb initially, followed by en masse migration and movement toward "talk mode" cell phone. The initial quiet period was characterized by rise in concentration of biomolecules including proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, perhaps due to stimulation of body mechanism to fight the stressful condition created by the radiations. At later stages of exposure, there was a slight decline in the concentration of biomolecules probably because the body had adapted to the stimulus.