The root of Sarpgandha is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae has been traditionally used in Ayurveda for many years to treat a variety of diseases that at first thought appear to bear little similarity to one another. These include insanity, epilepsy, insomnia, hysteria, eclampsia and hypertension. On reflection, however, these various diseases could have a common denominato...

Attraction of virgin female Anastrepha serpentina Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) to the odor of calling males was demonstrated. This sex pheromone-mediated attraction occurred during the latter half of a 13-h photophase but not during the Þrst half of the day. Two major components of emissions of calling males, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine (DMP) and 3,6-dihydro-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (DHDMP), and trime...

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are essential for rural livelihoods but often threatened by deforestation and overexploitation. Rauvolfia serpentina is a critical NTFP species; however, there have been no studies on the impact of future climate change its potential habitat distribution. We used Maxent modeling approach to address this knowledge gap determine species’ current suitability unde...

Steroid hormones affect sex determination in a variety of vertebrates. The feminizing effects of exposure to estradiol and the masculinizing effects of aromatase inhibition during development are well established in a broad range of vertebrate taxa, but paradoxical findings are occasionally reported. Four independent experiments were conducted on two turtle species with temperature-dependent se...

Dracunculus globocephalus Mackin, 1927 (Nematoda: Dracunculoidea) is redescribed from specimens collected from the mesentery of the snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina (L.), in Louisiana, USA. The use of scanning electron microscopy, applied for the first time in this species, made it possible to study details in the structure of the cephalic end and the arrangement of male caudal papillae tha...