Search

Background: The incidence of antibacterial resistance and colon cancer is increasing in India. Antibacterial resistance and chemoresistance demand the need of developing herbal or natural chemotherapeutic agents. Our study thus, aims to determine the antibacterial and anticancer activities of the leaf extracts of the mangrove Excoecaria agallocha. Results: Liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy analysis of the ethanolic E. agallocha extracts revealed the presence of Bergenin. The plant extract fraction containing Bergenin had potent antibacterial action against a resistant strain of Salmonella typhi with an MIC value of 15.7 ± 0.04 µg/mL. Treatment of the bacteria with the plant extract made it moderately susceptible to the antibacterial drugs ampicillin, aztreonam, cefotaxime, chloramphenicol and imipenem. The plant extract caused membrane damage and disrupted the expression of a 33 kDa outer membrane protein (OmpA) in S. typhi. It was plausibly due to this mechanism of the plant extract that made the bacteria susceptible to the antibacterial drugs to a certain extent. Further, fluorescence microscopy analysis revealed the anticancer property of the extract against a human colon cancer (DLD-1) cell line by activation of Caspase-3followed by subsequent apoptosis and exhibited cytotoxicity against the cancerous cell line with an IC50 value of 17.99 ± 1.12 µg/mL. Caspase-3 activity was observed to increase in a dose-dependent manner as determined by spectrophotometric assays. Moreover, the expression of the metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) was significantly reduced in plant extract treated DLD-1 colon cancer cells. Conclusion: The results indicate that E. agallocha is a novel source of Bergenin, and the plant extract fraction under study may be used in combination therapy along with antibacterial drugs to combat antibacterial resistance of S. typhi and also to alleviate the risks of colon cancers in human. However, further investigations may be undertaken for its therapeutic application and to explore its potential bioactivity against other bacterial strains and human cancer cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City size plays an important role in the context of growing urbanization in developing countries, such as India. In the backdrop of this fact certain questions are pertinent: whether economic activities are concentrated in a few large cities; which economic factors determine the size of large cities; whether it is possible to trace different groups among the large cities, and whether the relationship pertaining to city size, migration, and poverty is discernible are some of the research issues which are analyzed in this paper by considering 47 million-plus cities in India. The estimated Pareto distribution suggests that within the group of large million-plus cities, production is not so diversified, though the extreme form of concentration such as primacy or rank size rule does not hold either. In fact, three broad groups are evident, as brought out by the results of the cluster analysis. Both OLS and Tobit regression results indicate that the wage rate, amount of municipal solid waste generation, and the number of salaried employed persons are positively associated with city population while the number of registered motor vehicles has a negative effect on it. However, the infrastructure index calculated through factor analysis does not show any significant effect on the city size. Based on the results of factor analysis, increased migration and reduced poverty are seen to be associated with city size. Finally, we bring out the important policy suggestions for sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an examination of the relationships between imbalanced gender ratios and the growth–health–poverty nexus, a simultaneous equation model (based on panel data) identifies an adverse impact of poor health conditions on the gender ratio. Better health services and health outcomes can raise the survival rate of girl children and women, while a higher gender ratio (a greater presence of women) is associated with an increased survival rate of girl children. Economic growth alone is not sufficient to curb gender inequality, but the female labour force participation rate does have favourable effects on the gender ratio, indicating the wide social and economic implications of women's access to resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper based on a primary survey of slum dwellers in four Indian cities examines the caste dimension of migrants and the nexus, if any, between caste and the job market participation. Based on the quantitative exercises, we observe overlaps between social and economic status. A higher propensity to migrate is evident among the population belonging to the general (GEN) category and other backward castes in comparison to the scheduled castes and tribes who are at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. The disadvantaged castes are not even in a position to take the benefits of migration. Further, those with higher caste status seem to have better endowments required for absorption in the urban job market; the migrants of higher caste status are absorbed in relatively better jobs compared to the lower castes. Migrant workers from GEN category draw relatively higher incomes. On the whole, when both the caste and migration dimensions are combined, at the lower echelons, migration does pay if the worker is better off in terms of caste status. From this point of view, it is argued that special programmes offering improved access to livelihood opportunities need to be pursued in the rural areas so that the disadvantaged castes are able to reduce their vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper extending the size-productivity framework we examine the nature of relationship between city size and the deprivation index developed at a highly disaggregate level of urban centres (city/town) on the basis of dwelling conditions, basic amenities and assets in possession. Further, the demographic and economic characteristics in relation to the deprivation index and city size are analysed in detail. Very large cities are endowed with better living conditions and infrastructural facilities, displaying lower magnitude of the index though this relationship is not very strong, suggesting the importance of other variables such as income, location and the overall level of urbanisation, impacting on the index value. Large cities experience agglomeration economies but they do not benefit all sections of the population equally, which in turn does not necessarily bring in proportionate decline in the deprivation index with a rise in city size. Further, other demographic and economic variables are examined in relation to the deprivation index and city size. Findings show Further, there is no marked improvement in these other indicators of development with increase in as city size increases. Greater intervention is called for to provide support in terms of housing, sanitation and water, and for other indicators of development to improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The implications of technology adoption for productivity, income, and welfare have been studied widely in the context of less developed countries (LDCs). In contrast, the relationship between technology adoption and employment has attracted less interest. This systematic review evaluates the diverse yet sizeable evidence base that has remained below the radars of both reviewers and policy makers. We map the qualitative and empirical evidence and report that the effect of technology adoption on employment is skill biased and more likely to be observed when technology adoption favors product innovation as opposed to process innovation. Technology adoption is also less likely to be associated with employment creation when: (i) the evidence is related to farm employment as opposed to firm/industry employment; (ii) the evidence is related to low-income countries as opposed to lower middle-income or mixed countries; and (iii) the evidence is based on post-2001 data as opposed to pre-2001 data. There is also qualitative evidence indicating that international trade, weak forward and backward linkages, and weaknesses in governance and labor-market institutions tend to weaken the job-creating effects of technology adoption. We conclude by calling for compilation of better quality survey data and further attention to sources of heterogeneity in modeling the relationship between technology adoption and employment in LDCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slum dwellers in developing countries reside in inhuman conditions, with little provision of basic facilities and with considerable overlap between sources of drinking water supply, sewerage and the area for garbage disposal. Is it because clean environment does not enter their decision function for residence selection or is it simply non-affordability? We examine these questions in the context of the registered slum clusters of four Indian cities – Mathura, Ujjain, Jaipur and Ludhiana. A primary survey was conducted in these cities under a project on urban poverty undertaken jointly by the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of India in 2006–2007, based on which this analysis has been pursued. A reduced form hedonic equation of house prices of owned residential units is estimated to ascertain slum dwellers’ preferences in house selection. We find house prices vary consistently with many structural variables, but with only two of the neighbourhood features – streetlight and sewage facility provided by the government. Most of the other neighbourhood variables like provision of water, garbage collection, healthcare etc. including presence of open drain in the neighbourhood have insignificant effect on house prices. Measures of willingness to pay show strong promise of cost sharing for slum improvisation programs for facilities like sewage and street lights. Further, slums located within the city, closer to the CBD fetch higher prices. Slum residents expect public provision of other facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study based on two primary surveys of the same households in two different years (2007/08 and 2012) assesses the extent of inter-temporal change in income of the individual workers and makes an attempt to identify important correlates of upward mobility in alternate econometric models, envisaging endogeneity problem. The findings are indicative of a rise in the income of workers across a sizeable percentage of households though many of them remained below the poverty line notwithstanding this increase. Inadequate education reduces the probability of upward mobility while education above a threshold level raises it. Savings are crucial for upward mobility impinging on the importance of asset creation. Views that entail neighbourhood spill-over effects also received validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Make in India program aims at building best-in-class manufacturing set up in the country. However, public infrastructure is considered to be one of the biggest obstacles for the growth of manufacturing in the country. In this context, this paper examines the role of infrastructure and information & communication technology (ICT) on total factor productivity (TFP) and technical efficiency (TE) of the Indian manufacturing sector for the period 1994–2010. We use advanced estimation techniques to overcome problems of non-stationarity, omitted variables, endogeneity and reverse causality by applying fully modified OLS, panel cointegration and System GMM. Estimation results suggest that the impact of infrastructure and ICT is rather strong. Importantly, industries, such as Transport Equipment, Textile, Chemicals, Metal & Metal Products, which are more exposed to foreign competition, are found to be more sensitive to infrastructure endowments. In the light of these findings, policy implications are brought out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising incidence of corruption and tax evasion in India in the recent years have attracted a great deal of attention and initiated intense debate on these issues. Motivated by this, the present study intends to examine two important research issues. First, we test the impact of bribe payment on firms’ performance. Specifically, from an empirical point of view, we investigate two important but alternative hypotheses namely ‘grease the wheels’ and ‘sand the wheels’. Second, we intend to identify firms that must pay bribe. The study is based on the enterprises survey data of the World Bank. The findings on the effects of bribe on firm's performance are rather mixed. We noted that bribe works as tax on profitability of firms and reduces efficiency. However, the evidence is inconclusive relating to productivity. On the other hand, bribing shows a positive effect on the firms’ export and product innovation. Therefore, the evidence provides support to both the hypotheses. Findings regarding who must pay bribe reveal that tax-evading firms are likely to pay greater bribes to the government officers. Furthermore, policy impediments are an important cause of bribe payment. Thus, it is the complexity in the system (policy or bureaucratic) which tends to raise the probability of paying bribes and dampen performance. In the light of these findings, policy implications are brought out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keeping in mind the much discussed huge employment potential of small manufacturing units, this study examines the performance of enterprises across organised or formal and unorganised or informal sector enterprises. The analysis tends to offer little evidence in favour of positive links between sectors in terms of performance index, i.e. technical efficiency. The formal sector units obviously are better performers than their informal sector counterparts. The informal sector units are not able to benefit in the process of rapid overall growth, suggesting that growth is not inclusive. The demand side factor or agglomeration-specific factor also does not seem to impact on the performance of the informal sector enterprises favourably. On the other hand, the organized manufacturing sector, covered by ASI (annual survey of industries) is responsive to increases in income, which possibly can be explained in terms of the quality differences in the products manufactured by the formal and the informal sectors. The infrastructure variables also do not show a positive effect on the informal sector, while the formal sector efficiency improves with a rise in the availability of infrastructure. On the whole, the informal sector enterprises exist only to provide means of survival; they seem to lack all dynamism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we examine two critical aspects of the Indian corporate governance system, that is, influence of group affiliation and diversification on firm performance and impact of block holders on firm value. Using 1833 publicly listed firms for the year 2001-2004, we document that the benefits associated with business group affiliation is no longer observed in the post-economic reform era. Instead we find that standalone firms outperform the group affiliated firms when we control for firm-specific characteristics. Group formation has lost its internal capital market advantage over standalone firms due to the expansion of Indian capital market. Similarly, group diversification strategy is seen to be sub-optimal and diversification appears to be value-destroying. Among the major block holders, domestic financial institutions are found to be playing an insignificant role in comparison to the domestic and foreign institutional investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates their contributions to total gross state domestic product in an attempt to revisit the issue of cities as the engine of growth. Because direct evidence on this aspect is missing, this paper uses the proportion of urban workers to total workers and adjusts for the productivity differentials between rural and urban areas to arrive at the estimate of urban (city) domestic product. Findings suggest that a significant percentage of the value added, particularly in the nonagricultural sector, originates from the urban areas, with considerable variations across states. In general, states with a higher share of urban state domestic product have witnessed higher growth in per capita income and lower incidence of poverty. Estimates of cities' contribution to the total urban domestic product have also been calculated for those that have been listed under special urban renewal mission. Rapid urbanization, economic growth, and poverty reduction are all related, and agglomeration economies play a major role in this context. Finally, this paper focuses on policy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: India''s services sector has been growing rapidly and so also the trade in services. This paper attempts to assess if trade is able to generate employment in the services sector. Based on the time series macro data the direct and indirect effects of exports and imports on employment after deciphering their effects included in the overall growth, are seen to be mostly negligible. This holds both in the case of formal and informal services. Also, as per the company-level data international trade is not found to be an important determinant of employment in the services sector. On the whole, trade in services sector may enhance growth but this pattern of growth is less likely to be inclusive. Finally, the paper brings out the policy implications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

What helps workers from low-income households to access urban job market information and whether migrants are able to experience upward mobility at the place of destination are the two pertinent issues in urban development which this paper tries to examine. Results based on a slum survey in four Indian cities highlight the importance of various informal channels through which urban jobs are accessed. However, these networks reduce the probability of upward mobility, as network extension leads to excess supplies of labour relative to demand. The issue of upward mobility has also been examined by constructing a well-being (deprivation) index based on the factor analysis of a large number of social, economic, demographic, education and health-specific variables. Although findings are indicative of improvements in the well-being of migrant workers over time, several of the long-duration migrants and natives in the cities still lead a low quality life. The paper, therefore, argues in favour of urban employment programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper in an attempt to examine if the manufacturing sector is still the engine of growth delineates the inter-connections among several activities based on time series data on employment in different components of the organized sector in India. The analysis is pursued in the vector auto-regression (VAR) framework taking into account the results of variance decomposition analysis and the impulse response function. The findings suggest that some of the activities are growing independent of the manufacturing sector. Nevertheless manufacturing, construction and community, social and personal services are the most important drivers. Finally, the paper predicts the informal sector employment based on the magnitude of employment in different components of the organized or formal sector. Given the narrow margin of error of forecast the paper argues that in the absence of time series information on total employment, the time series on organized sector employment can be used for necessary predictions and planning required for employment and poverty. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A large majority of the workers engaged in the informal sector operate through various informal channels of information flow, designated as ‘social capital.’ Though these contacts may result in overcrowding and prevalence of low wages in certain activities, without ‘social capital’ access to any source of livelihood is almost inconceivable. For upward mobility, job market experience and self-initiative are more important though the phenomenon of upward mobility itself is quite limited among the low-income households. Even in terms of the well-being index several long duration migrants, who constitute a sizeable percentage of the slum population, are located in the lower size classes, indicating the lack of evidence in favour of any significant improvement in their living standards over time. Social capital is seen to be hindering the upward mobility possibly by creating excess supplies of labour. The policy implication of the study is that the role of ‘social capital’ needs to be integrated with the existing support schemes to make the latter cost-efficient and effective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines if the effects of agglomeration economies are manifested in technical efficiency and generate faster economic growth and higher (lower) levels of employment (unemployment). Using the prefecture level data for each of the two-digit groups of industries in Japan, it estimates a region-specific technical efficiency index based on the stochastic frontier production function framework. The factor analysis shows that in most of the industry-groups, efficiency has a positive association with external scale variable(s). Though the relationship is not very strong, it would be erroneous to ignore the effect of agglomeration economies on efficiency. For some light goods industries, the agglomeration effect is relatively stronger. Economic growth varies positively with external scale variable(s) and the unemployment rate tends to fall with respect to growth and concentration. This suggests that measures against industrial concentration may be counter-productive, particularly in the context of globalization when countries greatly need to raise productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes slum dwellers' access to basic amenities and the ways in which they gain access. Associations between Indian states' share of slums, proportions of notified slums, and prevailing conditions in terms of basic amenities present political contact as a key factor. Based on the political economy framework, slum survey data (2004–2005) show that political contact helps access facilities such as land tenure and basic amenities. The logit model identifies determinants of political contact by examining social networks and individual endowments. While political accessibility is crucial as a survival strategy, slum dwellers' vulnerability hardly diminishes over time; on the contrary, the political use of slums perpetuates it. However, strong social networks can prevent low income households from declining to a low equilibrium. The role of political contact is less applicable in other Asian countries. Instead, rational policies have greater relevance in improving the conditions of these low income households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The argument of exploitation of women workers in the labour market notwithstanding, this article examines whether women in India are unable to participate fully in the labour market because they are required to combine their household activities with income yielding jobs. They are constrained to work in the neighbourhood of their residence(the location of the residence having been decided upon by male family members), and can access jobs only through informal contacts(which usually means they end up in jobs similar to those of the contact persons), both of which reduce their bargaining power considerably. The tendency for specialized activities to be concentrated in different geographic locations of a city further restricts the possibility of women workers being engaged in diverse jobs and thus aggravates the situation of an excess supply of labour in a particular activity. Constrained choice, limited contacts of women and physical segmentation of the labour market perpetuate forces that entrap women workers in a low-income situation with worse outcomes than those of their male counterparts. Consequently with greater intensity of work they still continue to receive low wages, while residual participation in the labour market restricts the possibilities of skill formation and upward mobility. All of these factors offer a substantive basis for policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a micro-survey of around 800 slum households in Delhi this paper highlights the role of networks in accessing jobs in the urban labor market. Primarily three types of networks have been identified, which operate through kinship bonds, caste and ethnicity bonds, and formal channels like NGOs and employment exchanges. The type of networks used seems to vary across occupations. Based on a multinomial logit model the paper notes that given the differences in the nature of economic activities performed in different parts of the city, factors like networks and the urge to reside near the contact person and the work place make the urban labor market highly segmented. Hence, certain pockets within the city tend to get crowded by the growth of slums, and secondly inter-spatial variations in terms of activities/occupations make slum population in the city a heterogeneous set, and thus their problems and need vary substantially. Hence, any uniform policy for clusters located in different zones may not be able to tackle effectively the problems of slum dwellers in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the possible links between economic growth, poverty and health, using panel data for the Indian states. The findings indicate that, though growth tends to reduce poverty, significant improvements in health status are also necessary for poverty to decrease. Also, economic growth and health status are positively correlated and have a two-way relationship, suggesting that better health enhances growth by improving productivity, and higher growth allows better human capital formation. Health expenditure is an important determinant of both higher growth and better health status, and is therefore a key tool available to policy-makers. Among other exogenous variables, literacy and industrialisation seem to improve both health outcomes and growth, and to reduce poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines total factor productivity growth and urbanization economies in 15 major states in India. Responsiveness of total productivity growth to urban population or industrial spread; Finding that economic policy would yield a sub-optimal outcome by ignoring the positive effect of the size factor; Improvement of the quality of labor and enhancement of the productive utilization of resources.

Background and Aims: Cancer has grabbed the attention of scientists and medical professionals all over the world much more than any other disease. In the past few decades, the medical field has improved quite a lot but progress in the path to find a solution for cancer is very less. As the popularity of invasive technologies is diminishing in cancer treatment, scientists have come up withminimally invasive or non‐invasive alternatives, among which liquid biopsy, by far is the most suitable. Methods: Liquid biopsy is used to analyse nucleic acids, subcellular components and circulating tumour cells in various biological fluids for diagnosis of cancer. It can also be used to know the efficacy of cancer drugs in a patient by analysing multiple samples. Outcomes: Liquid biopsy is becoming standard of care as it allows biopsy of those samples in which solid tumour biopsies are not possible. The diversity of sampling procedures, such as collection of urine for urothelial carcinoma or bladder or prostate cancer and phlebotomy for other types of cancer, make liquid biopsy one of the best methods for diagnosis of cancer. Conclusion: This review aims in discussing the several techniques used for the detection of cancer biomarkers and some clinical manifestations due to the changes in the biomarkers which are analysed by liquid biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangroves, despite thriving at the fringes of habitat tolerance in coastal regions, stand out as one of the world's most highly productive ecosystems. This study delves into the remarkable symbiotic relationship between mangroves and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Specifically, it assesses seasonal diversity in six true mangrove species and four associated species, situated in Henry's Island, Bakkhali, India. Spore density and root colonization were examined across different seasons. The highest spore density was observed in Heritiera fomes (a timber-producing mangrove) during the post-monsoon season, followed by pre-monsoon and monsoon periods. Root colonization was notably prominent in Ceriops tagal (Indian mangrove), Bruguira gymnorrhiza (Oriental mangrove), and Sonneratia alba (flowering evergreen mangrove) during both pre- and postmonsoon seasons. This study unveiled a rich fungal diversity, with a total of 60 AMF species belonging to 13 genera. Among these, the genus Glomus emerged as the dominant group, with species such as G. deserticola along with another genus Rhizophagus intraradics displaying widespread distribution. Notably, Glomus consistently ranked as the most prevalent genus throughout the year, indicating its remarkable adaptability and strong dispersal capacity in both true and associate mangrove plant species. This research sheds light on the seasonal dynamics of AMF associations in mangrove ecosystems, emphasizing the significance of Glomus as a key player in this symbiotic relationship. These findings contribute to our understanding of the ecological intricacies within mangrove habitats and highlight the adaptability of certain AMF genera to varying environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, bacterial strains were obtained from the rhizosphere of Azolla microphylla Kaulf. and their arsenic (As) tolerance was tested under in-vitro conditions. Out of the two bacteria screened for As(V) tolerance, strain R1 was found to have the highest As(V) tolerance level at 2000 mg/l and was found to retain up to 58.76% of As given in the medium solution within its cells, as revealed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy analysis. This efficient As(V)-resistant strain was identified using16S rRNA sequencing and fatty acid methyl ester profile analysis, and was found to be a strain of Bacillus cereus (GenBank accession number MH819519). Along with showing abundance of hallmark fatty acids of the Bacillus cereus group, some unique fatty acids were also detected in the bacterial strain R1, namely 15:1 ω5C, 17:1 iso ω10C, 17:1 ante isoA, 17:0, 18:0 iso, 18:1 ω9c, and 17:1 iso ω5C. At its maximum tolerable As(V) dose of 2000 mg/l, strain R1 showed 59.9% As(V) reduction, which was assessed through arsenate reductase enzyme activity. Not only this, under As(V) stress, strain R1 was found to produce 20.4% more cellular protein and display 30.3% antioxidant activity assayed as DPPH reduction. The bacterium is also capable of exhibiting plant growth promoting traits such as solubilisation of inorganic phosphate, production of siderophore and biosynthesis of the plant growth regulator indole acetic acid. Thus, this bacterium has the potential to remediate As(V) from environment and also assist the growth of plants growing in As-polluted ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve crop plants in terms of their yield, drought resistance, pest resistance, nutritional value, etc., modern agriculture has relied upon plant genetic engineering. Since the advent of recombinant DNA technology, several tools have been used for genetic transformations in plants such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens, virus-mediated gene transfer, direct gene transfer systems such as electroporation, particle gun, microinjection and chemical methods. All these traditional methods lack specificity and the transgenes are integrated at random sites in the plant DNA. Recently novel techniques for gene targeting have evolved such as engineered nucleases such as Zinc Finger Nucleases, Transcription Activator like effector nucleases, Clustered regular interspaced short palindromic repeats. Other advances include improvement in tools for delivery of gene editing components which include carrier proteins, and carbon nanotubes. The present review focuses on the latest techniques for target specific gene delivery in plants, their expression and future directions in plant biotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pair of tridentate ligands incorporating heterocyclic hydrazones of 9,10‐phenanthrenequinone viz,. pyridyl‐hydrazino‐phenathrenequinone HLPy1a and benzothiazolyl‐hydrazino‐phenathrenequinone HLBenz1b have been synthesized and both behave as monoanionic towards nickel(II), forming meridional octahedral complexes of type [Ni(LPy)2] 2a and [Ni(LBenz)2] 2b as evident from single crystal X‐ray diffraction studies. The complexes are electro‐active in solution and nature of redox orbitals has been analysed by theoretical means. They display two oxidative and two reductive responses that have been ascribed to the redox processes of coordinated ligands. The electronic absorption spectral patterns of two complexes are analogous barring the fact that lower energy transition for 2b is marginally bathochromically shifted relative to that of 2a and it has been clarified by TD‐DFT studies. Anti‐bacterial efficacy of the ligands HLPy1a, HLBenz1b and complexes [Ni(LPy)2] 2a, [Ni(LBenz)2] 2b against four Gram‐positive and four Gram‐negative strains has been explored. [Ni(LPy)2] 2a exhibits more pronounced efficacy than [Ni(LBenz)2] 2b and these are greater than those of the corresponding ligands. The mode of action of 2a is essential via DNA damage while protein leakage and membrane lipid damage were observed upon treatment with 2b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two types of bivalent ruthenium complexes [RuLPy(CO)Cl(PPh3)3] 3 and [RuLBenz(CO)Cl(PPh3)3] 4 were synthesized starting from [RuH(CO)Cl(PPh3)3] and heterocyclic hydrazone ligands 1 and 2 respectively. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that in both types of complexes, the ligands behave as monoanionic bidentate Nhydrazonyl and Npyridyl/Nbenzothiazolyl donors towards ruthenium(II), thereby furnishing four-membered metallacycles. The multiple transitions in the electronic spectra have been elucidated by time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The redox active nature of both 3 and 4 has been substantiated from the well-defined oxidative responses and theoretical scrutiny corroborates that one of them is exclusively ligand centred while the other one is chiefly due to the RuII/RuIII oxidation. Both the types of complexes exhibit a significant antimicrobial activity, although the activity of 4 is more prominent, particularly over Pseudomonas. These are analyzed by measuring ZOI, MIC as well as the extent of membrane damage and protein leakage studies. The complexes probably cause free-radical facilitated oxidative damage to the bacterial cells during the course of their activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminescent nickel(ii) complexes of type [NiII(L−I)2], 2, have been synthesized using photosensitizer redox-active oxime ligands HL, 1, incorporating the π-acidic azo and pyridyl functions. The redox non-innocent behaviour of the ligands has been exploited to isolate the open shell Ni(ii)-bound azo-oxime anion radical complexes of type Et4N[NiII{(L−I)2}•−], 3, via reduction with NaBH4. The superior stabilization of the unpaired spin over the ligand framework has been established by EPR and DFT studies. The anti-bacterial activity of 2 has been scrutinized and it has been found to exhibit potential radical scavenging activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin has been transformed to racemic/meso curcuminoids via an azomethine ylide cycloaddition reaction using isatin/acenaphthoquinone and proline. The resulting analogues were subjected to screening of antimicrobial efficacy against some opportunistic pathogenic bacteria (B. subtilis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus) and the potent ones (4Dd, 4Ed, 4Fb and 4Fd) were assessed for growth curve assay and biomolecular damages. Cytotoxicity studies against six cell lines (Caco-2, MDCK-2, CHO-K1, HEK-293, Hela and HepG-2) revealed that IC50 values of some derivatives (3Ab, 4Ba, 4Bb, 4Da, 4Db and 4Fc) were markedly lower than those of curcumin in all the six cell lines, the products being most potent against Hek-293, Hela, and Hep-G2. DPPH radical scavenging activity showed significant antioxidant potential in these analogues compared to curcumin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian subcontinent has shown luxuriant growth of marine algae along its continental shelf. The algal consortium discussed here was collected from a fisherman's net in the Arabian sea at the Kovalam Beach, Trivandrum, Kerala. The geographical location of the spot is 8°30'27'' N and 76°58'19'' E. The algae after collection was kept in 10% of saline water collected as an aliquot from the Arabian sea itself. Further observations showed that the algae caused blackening of the layer of sand which got precipitated beneath the vessel due to the liberation of hydrogen sulphide (H2S). It was experimentally observed that the hydrogen sulphide was liberated not by the algae but by the bacteria present in the vicinity. The algae were having an antagonistic relationship with bacteria, as the latter reduced the algal viability and shelf life. The bacteria was isolated, characterized and identified by 16s DNA analysis. It was gram positive, nonmotile and a common resident of soil and genetically identified as Bacillus mycoides, which probably is not a natural resident of sea. It showed citrate, methyl red and Voges Prauskaur tests positive. It clearly showed that the sewage carried by different rivers or canals flowing into the sea is causing serious damage to the marine biodiversity in the estuarine areas of the subcontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]