Raptors play a unique role in ecosystem services and are regarded as effective indicators of ecosystem health. In recent years, varieties of anthropogenic factors have threatened the majority of raptor species worldwide. Nepal is considered a global hotspot for threatened and declining raptor species, but there is limited information on the direct human threats to the raptor populations living in the country. In this paper, we identify important anthropogenic threats to raptors in Nepal based on raptor mortality data collected by powerline surveys and from monitoring of GPS-tagged raptors, complete various reports, and social media. We found that powerlines, poisoning, and persecution, mainly shooting, are significant threats to raptors in Nepal that were largely overlooked previously. We report 54 electrocuted raptors affecting eight species, 310 poisoned raptors of 11 species, and five persecuted raptors of four species; among them vultures are the most affected (>88%). Based on our findings, to safeguard the future of Nepal’s raptors, we propose the retrofitting of power poles and the use of flight diverters on powerlines in the most affected areas to reduce raptor interactions with powerlines, as well as an effective conservation education programme to prevent the use of unintentional poisoning.

This study surveyed Malaysian aborigine people to determine the prevalence of alcohol abuse dependence, psychiatric morbidity and psychosocial correlates among Malaysians aborigines. Studies among minority group in developed nations repeatedly showed severe drinking problems (Lomnitz, 1976; Gordon, 1978; Karno et al, 1987; Yamamoto et al, 1993).

Household survey with informed consent taken. Selected household were chosen and orang asli (aborigines) age 18 above were interviewed in Kuala Betis areas. Alcohol screening used AUDIT questionnaires and Psychiatric morbidity measured by MINI. Odds ratio was used as measures of the association for the variables. The data analysis was done using SPSS version. 276 orang asli were interviewed during the study. Majority are within age group of 18-29 years of age (37%) with the mean age 36.51 years old. The M: F (50.7% and 49.3%). Senoi ethnic group is the majority (97.8%). 28% has no formal education and 58% received primary school education.

Majority are married (82.2%). Half of them are employed and more than half received less than RM 500 monthly (USD 150). Types of alcohol use mainly beer and whisky. 90.24% have AUDIT score less than 7.

Multivariate analysis showed only those employed are significantly associated with alcohol problems, Odds ratio= 0.089, 95% CI (0.033-0.246), P< 0.001.

Prevalence of alcohol use among orang asli is comparable with general population. Employed people may have more money to buy alcoholic beverages. Orang asli probably need more attention on awareness program and further interventions.

Bedding material is an important requirement of floor-based poultry production systems to meet the health and welfare requirements. This substrate can be an organic material like wood or plant-based material or inorganic material like clay and sand and should generally be a good absorbant, easily available, comfortable and nontoxic to birds. Wood is an organic renewable resource having good humidity regulation and antimicrobial properties and its by-products are commonly used as poultry litter in many countries. For example, in France, wood-based bedding is used in 80% of turkey production. This litter has approximately 50% lower NH3 production compared to other materials like sand and hulls, and has multiple environment-friendly disposal options. Moreover, the birds grown on such litter show better health and welfare and they prefer to practice their natural behaviours on this material which is helpful for the amelioration of physiological status and reduction of locomotion injuries. Moreover, according to some studies, the birds show improvement in different performance parameters, for example, up to 5-7% improvement in daily weight gain, live body weight, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and survivability. These improvements may differ depending upon the production system and type of wood material used in experiments, still it can be concluded that wood-based bedding materials do not negatively affect the production potential of poultry. In addition, the antimicrobial potential of wood may help to counter the load of certain pathogens in environment of birds. This review describes the physiochemical properties of wood-based bedding materials and their role in production and welfare of poultry.

Mast cells (MCs) are granulated cells of haematopoietic lineage and constitute a major sensory arm of the immune system. MCs dually guard hosts and regulate immune responses against invading pathogens. This property of the MCs is attributed to their adaptability to detect stress signals and pathogens, and the production of signal specific mediators to engage immune cells for clearance of infectious agents. Pathogen-specific signals establish basis for the initiation of adoptive immune responses. These immune regulatory roles of MCs have opened avenues to engage different MCs activators which culminate in effective passive immunisation. The molecular mechanisms and dynamics of functionalities of MCs in host defences have been extensively characterised in mammals and rodents, and research on MCs in avian species is emerging. This review surveys the development, morphology and distribution of MCs in different tissues of the poultry and highlight areas that can be exploited for disease control and prevention.

Olive jift is a solid by-product of olive (Olea europea) oil processing. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate olive jift effect on broomrape (Orobanche spp.) infections on three crops. Soil—jift mixtures were used as potting medium in ratios of 1:0, 1:1, and 3:1 soil to jift. Broomrape seeds were evenly incorporated in the potting media at 0, 150, 300, 450, 600, 750, and 900 seeds/kg. Pots planted with faba bean or pea were inoculated with seeds of O. crenata Forsk., whereas pots planted with tomato were inoculated with seeds of O. lavandulacea Reichenb. Jift in soil reduced broomrape germination and infection on all three hosts regardless of inoculation densities. Pea was not infected with broomrape in jift-containing media at any inoculation density, whereas only sporadic broomrape infections were observed in faba bean and tomato grown in jift-mixed soils. Fresh and dry weights of all crops were not adversely affected by mixing jift with soil. These results suggest a possible use of jift as an inexpensive organic material for broomrape control.

The liver is the ‘central laboratory’ of a chicken's body, responsible for sorting and transforming digested compounds as well as dealing with waste products. It is essential that this organ is kept in an excellent condition in order to maintain a healthy bird. Viral hepatitis in poultry is a complex disease syndrome caused by several viruses belonging to different families, including fowl adenoviruses (FAdV), avian hepatitis E virus (HEV), duck hepatitis virus (DHV), and turkey hepatitis virus (THV). Although, these viruses target the liver primarily, they each possess unique clinical and biological features. Hydropericardium syndrome (HPS) is a highly infectious disease caused by FAdV serotype 4 (FAdV-4) affecting poultry, especially broilers, and is characterised by the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac and hepatitis. Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) was recognised firstly in the US, and the disease has now been reported in many countries. FAdV, the causative agent of inclusion body hepatitis, is a Group I avian adenovirus in the genus Aviadenovirus. The affected birds have a pale, swollen, friable, and haemorrhagic liver with pathognomonic histological lesions including intranuclear inclusion bodies in the nuclei of the hepatocytes. Avian HEV naturally infects chickens and is associated with hepatitis-splenomegaly syndrome, although the majority of the infected birds are subclinical. THV is a picornavirus that is likely the causative agent of turkey viral hepatitis. Currently there are more questions than answers about THV, and pathogenesis and clinical impact remains largely unknown. Future research into viral hepatic diseases of poultry is warranted to develop effective vaccines, specific diagnostic assays, and identify suitable cell culture systems for virus propagation. This review covers the common and unique features of major hepatitis causing viruses, with emphasis on FAdV, HEV and THV in an effort to identify the knowledge gaps and aid prevention and control of poultry viral hepatitis.

The successful and widely used two-step process of producing the hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite CH3NH3PbI3, consists of converting a solution deposited PbI2 film by reacting it with CH3NH3I. Here, we investigate the solidification of PbI2 films from a DMF solution by performing in situ grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) measurements. The measurements reveal an elaborate sol–gel process involving three PbI2⋅DMF solvate complexes—including disordered and ordered ones—prior to PbI2 formation. The ordered solvates appear to be metastable as they transform into the PbI2 phase in air within minutes without annealing. Morphological analysis of air-dried and annealed films reveals that the air-dried PbI2 is substantially more porous when the coating process produces one of the intermediate solvates, making this more suitable for subsequent conversion into the perovskite phase. The observation of metastable solvates on the pathway to PbI2 formation open up new opportunities for influencing the two-step conversion of metal halides into efficient light harvesting or emitting perovskite semiconductors.

Immune dysfunction can be either at the humoral or cellular levels and is mediated by a myriad of factors including virus-induced immunosuppression. Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) affects domesticated poultry and causing health problems mainly due to prolonged immunosuppression. Destruction of the immunoglobulin-producing cells is the principal cause of IBDV-induced immunosuppression, which leads to significant impairment of the primary antibody responses. Due to these effects, IBDV infection not only increases the susceptibility of poultry to other viral infections but predisposes the host to several other bacteria of variable pathologies. The IBDV-induced immune-suppression is well-known phenomenon, however, recently there have been significant advancements in understanding the molecular mechanisms of this immune-suppression. This review discuss current updates regarding the immunotoxic and immunosuppressive nature of IBDV in the poultry and highlights areas requiring future research attentions that may help to establish foundations for effective and improved vaccines against IBDV.

The restricted use of antibiotics in the poultry sector has greatly enhanced the search for environment-friendly alternatives and complementary therapeutic approaches to manage infectious diseases in poultry. Cytokines, as natural immune-modulators, offer alternatives to conventional chemical-based therapeutics. Cytokine usage is becoming more feasible in poultry due to recent advancements in the field of immunology and vaccination, leading to the identification and cloning of avian cytokine genes. Existing adjuvants for poultry vaccines can have deleterious side-effects on the health and products of poultry and a subsequent reduction in profits. Therefore, alternative adjuvants must be developed to enhance the impact of vaccination. The use of cloned cytokines as adjuvants in poultry is attracting attention after the identification of new cytokine genes in chicken. Hence, cytokines may be used as therapeutics and vaccine adjuvants for enhancing immune response during infection and vaccination. This review focuses on the recent advancements in the application of avian cytokines as therapeutics or vaccine adjuvants.

The cliff-nesting Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus is one of four critically endangered Asian Vultures. In India, this species has declined catastrophically, but in Pakistan only small population declines have been recorded. Mortality of this species has been linked to poisoning by veterinary diclofenac, which was banned throughout south Asia in 2006. Between 2003 and 2012 we measured abundance of adult, sub-adult, juvenile, and dead vultures, and nest occupancy and productivity at the largest known Long-billed Vulture colony in Pakistan. We compared population parameters from before (2003−2006) and after (2007−2012) the ban on veterinary diclofenac. Our data and models indicate that vulture abundance, nest occupancy, and nest productivity declined 61%, 73%, and 95%, respectively, in the three years before the diclofenac ban, and then increased 1–2 years after the ban by 55%, 52%, and 95%. Furthermore, we observed 87% of total vulture mortalities prior to the diclofenac ban. Our results demonstrate for the first time since the onset of the Asian vulture crisis that the ban on veterinary diclofenac is an effective management tool for reversing Long-billed Vulture population declines.

The influence of mechanical activation on the characteristics and mechanism of ignition of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis processes of different silicides in the systems Me–Si (Me =Ti, Nb, Mo) was investigated. The results show that mechanical activation does not alter the mechanism involved but influences significantly the ignition characteristics. The influence, however, strongly depends on the stoichiometry of the mixtures. The composition Ti:Si = 1:2 shows the largest influence, with the ignition temperatures decreasing from 1400 °C for unmilled powders to about 600 °C for powders milled for several hours. The compositionsTi:Si = 5:3, Nb:Si = 1:2 show less pronounced decreases, while the compositionMo:Si = 1:2 shows no decrease. These differences are discussed in terms of the role of microstructure in the reaction mechanism and the different response of the systems to contamination, particularly from oxygen. The results suggest that for these systems self-ignition processes during milling cannot be explained only on the basis of the decrease in the ignition temperature.

The mechanochemical behavior of the Ti–Si system was investigated across the whole composition range at a constant milling intensity. At low Si content the mechanical alloying process leads progressively to an amorphous structure. In the central range of the equilibrium diagram, crystalline intermetallic compounds form with a combustion-like behavior. A nanostructured composite of TiSi2 gradually evolves above the Ti25Si75 stoichiometry. Transformation behaviors relate to the thermodynamic and thermochemical properties of the tested mixtures as well as with their mechanical features and structural refinement, which change drastically within the explored composition range.