Hooghly Mohsin College (HMC) began on 1 August 1836 as the New Hooghly College. It was established by Muhammad Mohsin, who also started other colleges. On its 100th anniversary it was renamed Hooghly Mohsin College. It became affiliated to University of Calcutta since the latter's initiation in 1857. After the establishment of the University of Burdwan in 1960, the college became its constituent.
Mosquitoes rely heavily on olfactory cues for locating suitable oviposition sites, with microbial communities in aquatic habitats playing a crucial role in producing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that influence mosquito behaviour. In this study, we isolated Bacillus subtilis DHB13 from the breeding habitat of Culex quinquefasciatus, a major vector of several human diseases. The partial 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolate has been submitted to NCBI GenBank with the accession number PV698100. The identity and resistance profile of the strain was confirmed through biochemical and antibiotic susceptibility tests. The bacterial suspension demonstrated a notable oviposition activity index (OAI) of 0.77 ± SE, with moderate variation among treatments (F(3, 8) = 3.631, p = 0.0642). Multiple comparison analysis (Tukey’s test) showed that OAI values for DHB13-treated media did not differ significantly from natural habitat water but were significantly higher than the sterile control, indicating a biologically relevant attraction of gravid female mosquitoes. LC–MS analysis of the bacterial culture supernatant revealed the presence of three cresol derivatives: diisopropyl-m-cresol, 3-ethyl-p-cresol, and 6-ethyl-o-cresol. These compounds were evaluated through molecular docking against Cx. quinquefasciatus Odorant Binding Protein 1 (CxOBP1), a protein known to mediate olfactory-driven oviposition behaviour. However, mosquito olfaction involves several OBPs, receptors, and enzymes, so interaction with CxOBP1 represents only part of this complex sensory system. Molecular docking revealed strong binding of CxOBP1 with diisopropyl-m-cresol (-6.7 kcal/mol), 3-ethyl-p-cresol (-6.2 kcal/mol), and 6-ethyl-o-cresol (-5.9 kcal/mol), indicating potential oviposition attractant activity. All three ligands were found to bind within a conserved binding pocket of CxOBP1, behavioural assays confirmed the oviposition-stimulant properties of the bacterial suspension, indicating that the detected compounds mimic natural semio-chemicals such as p-cresol, previously recognized as an oviposition cue. These findings reinforce the role of microbiota in shaping mosquito reproductive behaviour through the production of volatile attractants. Moreover, they highlight the potential of using microbial VOCs as environmentally sustainable tools for mosquito surveillance and vector control. This integrative approach linking microbial ecology, chemical analysis, and mosquito behaviour provides novel insights for the development of attractant-based control strategies.
The essence of sustainable human development is that everyone should have equal access to development opportunities now and in future. Disability appears when an individual is not capable of receiving practical opportunities due to any form of impairment. According to Prof Amartya Sen, there is a negative association between disability and the level of human development. Greater the prevalence of disability, lower the level of human development and lower will be the wellbeing of human society. The last two census data in India reveal high prevalence of disability which is a great concern to us. Now economic development can be viewed as inclusiveness of disabled persons through expansion of opportunities and transforming them into productive capital. This paper studies the high prevalence of disability of children (0-4- & 5-9-years age group) in across Indian states over periods of 2001 and 2011 by using an index. Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, like the measure of concentration of disability of children across the states is computed and the impacts of various determinants on disability has been examined. Lack of ante-natal care, incidence of poverty, lack of immunization, insufficient institutional birth facilities, and early marriage or teenage pregnancy are found to be some crucial factors influencing disability and causing non-inclusiveness.
This article explores the systematic exclusion of Muslim women in West Bengal’s education system. Through descriptive, historical analysis and empirical investigation, the authors have examined the persistence of educational marginalisation of Muslim women using insights from theories of social exclusion, the capability approach, and intersectionality to interpret the problem. National-level surveys and micro-level studies have been used to critically analyse educational access of Muslim women. These have been statistically tested for compatibility and compared with primary data derived from the authors’ survey of five Muslim-majority villages in the Burdwan district of West Bengal to verify patterns of discrimination. The findings reveal the enduring problems of illiteracy and dropouts at secondary and higher secondary levels and the inefficacy of government interventions in improving the situation. Based on such evidences, the authors have argued that Muslim women face greater educational exclusion than other disadvantaged social groups. However, the findings indicate a marginal improvement in Muslim women’s participation in higher education. The novelty of the study lies in its broad historical scope, investigation of the multifaceted exclusion faced by Muslim women, and its systematic and scientific approach to support the central arguments.
We observe the exchange-bias effect below 45 K in DyBaCo4O7, which shows antiferromagnetic ordering 78 K. The exchange-bias field (H E) is 1.15 kOe for 50 kOe cooling field (H cool) at 2 K. The H E increases considerably with increasing H cool associated with a small increase of H C. These results can be elucidated based on the exchange coupling between magnetic phases associated with the rare-earth moment of -ions and non-rare-earth moment of Co ions in DyBaCo4O7.
Mosquito-borne diseases remain a major global public health concern, with Culex quinquefasciatus acting as an important vector of lymphatic filariasis. This study investigated ecological and physico-chemical characteristics of larval breeding habitats across 14 villages in the Ajodhya Hill Forest, Purulia, India, between November 2023 and September 2024. Per-dip larval density (PDLD) was highest in polluted drains near human habitations (38.4 ± 1.5 larvae/dip), compared to ponds (25.53 ± 0.70) and roadside ditches (10.46 ± 0.35). Aerobic heterotrophic bacterial counts ranged from 4.13 × 105 to 21.56 × 105 cfu, with significantly greater microbial loads in organically polluted habitats. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive associations of PDLD with turbidity (r = 0.943), total dissolved solids (r = 0.919–0.963 depending on bacterial indicators), and bacterial abundance, whereas dissolved oxygen showed a negative correlation (r = − 0.890). Principal component analysis indicated that the first axis explained 53.1
