Bioactivity-directed fractionation of the organic extracts of two filamentous fungi of the Bionectriaceae, strains MSX 64546 and MSX 59553 from the Mycosynthetix library, led to the isolation of a new dimeric epipolythiodioxopiperazine alkaloid, verticillin H (1), along with six related analogues, Sch 52900 (2), verticillin A (3), gliocladicillin C (4), Sch 52901 (5), 11′-deoxyverticillin A (6), and gliocladicillin A (7). The structures of compounds 1–7 were determined by extensive NMR and HRMS analyses, as well as by comparisons to the literature. All compounds (1–7) were evaluated for cytotoxicity against a panel of human cancer cell lines, displaying IC50 values ranging from 1.2 µM to 10 nM. Compounds 1–5 were examined for activity in the NF-κB assay, where compounds 2 and 3 revealed activity in the sub-micromolar range. Additionally, compounds 1, 3, and 4 were tested for EGFR inhibition using an enzymatic assay, while compound 3 was examined against an overexpressing EGFR+ve cancer cell line.

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Aim: The present study was planned with an aim to access the incidence of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in nomadic sheep and goat of Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state of India. Materials and Methods:A total of 34 nasal swabs (13 sheep and 21 goats) samples of 13 flocks suspected for PPR infection were screened for presence of PPR virus antigen by PPR sandwich-ELISA kit. Results:The overall incidence of PPR by sandwich ELISA was observed to be 55.55%, with higher incidence in goats (66.66%) than in sheep (35.71%). Location wise incidence of PPR ranged between 33.33-100%. The overall age wise incidence of PPR was highest in young animals of 0-6 months (83.33%), followed by 6-12 months (66.66%) and lowest in adults of >12 months (31.35 %). Whereas month wise incidence of PPR was highest in the month of February. Conclusion:In nut shell it can be concluded that PPR is fairly prevalent in nomadic sheep and goats of Jammu region of J&K state with the evidences of natural transmission of PPR.

Examination of 3,960 goats brought from six districts of Jammu province and slaughtered at Jammu abattoir from July 2005 to June 2006 revealed 47.22% prevalence of larval stages of warble fly (Przhevalskiana silenus Brauer, 1858) in goats. Highest prevalence was recorded in Udhampur (56.44%) and lowest in Doda district (13.49%). Classification of the study area into four zones based on height (meters above sea level), viz., zone I (300-325 m asl), zone II (325-800 m asl), zone III (800-1,500 m asl), and zone IV (>1,500 m asl), revealed significant (p < 0.01) difference in infestation among animals of zone II (71.68%), zone III (40.12%), and zone IV (22.41%). However, animals of zone I did not reveal any infestation. Statistical analysis in relation to age showed significant (p < 0.01) difference among different age groups, i.e., <1 year (2.81%), 1-3 years (51.17%), and >3 years (43.16%). Breed-wise analysis also showed significantly (p < 0.01) higher infestation rate among Bakerwali (51.51%) goats as compared to Beetal (42.59%). But no significant difference was recorded among male (47.81%) and female (46.82%) animals. The overall mean larva count (L1, L2, and L3) was observed to be 14.72 ± 0.34, ranging from 4 to 72. It was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in animals of zone II (22.20 ± 0.21) as compared to goats of zones III (14.21 ± 0.41) and IV (7.73 ± 0.90). Age-wise analysis of mean larva count also showed significant (P < 0.05) difference between animals of 1-3 years (16.25 ± 0.37) and >3 years of age (13.18 ± 0.40). Mean larvae count in relation to sex and breed did not reveal any significant difference. First-instar larvae (L(1)) were recorded from May to mid-September, second larval stage (L(2)) from mid-September to mid-December, and third-stage larvae (L(3)) from mid-December to February. However, No larvae were recorded from March to April, which is suggestive of pupation period in this region. Thus, it is concluded that adult fly is active in April to June. The results further confirmed that internal life cycle of P. silenus is subcutaneous and no migration of larvae occurs. This is the first report from India, based on slaughter house study on the prevalence and biology of goat warble fly infestation. It will help in devising suitable prophylactic and eradication program to check the economic losses rendered by adult fly.