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This article contributes to the diversity and stand structure of the mangroves in Kerala, India, using multivariate methods. Floristic diversity of mangroves comprised 18 species of true mangroves, of which Sonneratia alba, Avicennia alba, and Ceriops tagal were found to be rare, whereas Bruguiera parviflora was extinct in the state. Structural analyses revealed the importance of Avicennia officinalis and the domination of Acanthus ilicifolius. The mean stem density ranged from 10 to 13846 no/ha, whereas the mean basal area ranged from 0.02 to 20.19 m2/ha. Multivariate analysis of true mangroves could be classified into five floristic groups based on stem density. Group 1 comprised Rhizophora mucronata, R. apiculata, Ceriops tagal, Kandelia candel, Sonneratia alba, and S. caseolaris, which were seen in the fringing zone. A combination of Group 2 and Group 3 comprised Avicennia marina, A. alba, Lumnitzera racemosa, Acrostichum aureum, Excoecaria agallocha, E. indica, Avicennia officinalis, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, and Aegiceras corniculatum, found in the intermediate zone, whereas Bruguiera sexangula and B. cylindrica occurred in the landward regions which constituted Group 4. Acanthus ilicifolius, having a widespread distribution, was found in all the three zones represented by Group 5. Tidal elevation was found to be important in shaping the observed zonation. Keywords: Diversity, Kerala, Mangroves, Multivariate analysis, Stem density

Background: Adding vitamin C-rich fruit to staples containing iron could be an effective strategy to improve iron bioavailability and thereby reduce iron-deficiency anemia in children., Objectives: We aimed to assess the effect of consuming a mungbean-based meal with or without guava fruit on body iron stores, hemoglobin concentration, and anemia of children as part of a school feeding program., Methods: We conducted a 7-mo randomized, controlled trial with 6- to 10-y-old school children (n = 200; 46% anemic, 71% iron-deficient) from a rural community in Haryana, North India. Children were assigned to 2 treatment groups to daily receive either a meal of mungbean dal only (3.0 mg iron; vitamin C:iron molar ratio ∼0.5:1), or mungbean dal with fresh guava (3.2 mg iron; ∼170 mg vitamin C; molar ratio ∼18:1). Meals were served every school day under supervision. The primary outcome was body iron stores, whereas concentrations of hemoglobin and other iron indicators were secondary outcomes., Results: Daily consumption of mungbean dal along with guava did not result in an overall improvement of body iron stores [mean treatment effect: 0.65 mg/kg body weight; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.34, 1.63; P = 0.197]. However, compared with children who consumed mungbean dal only, children in the guava group showed a larger increase in hemoglobin concentration (3.7 g/L; 95% CI: 1.6, 5.6; P = 0.001), and a larger drop in the prevalence of anemia (-51%; 95% CIs: -74, -10; P = 0.022) and iron-deficiency anemia (-56%, 95% CI: -83, 13; P = 0.087). These effects were more pronounced in children who were iron deficient at study start., Conclusions: Addition of guava to a mungbean-based meal containing a moderate amount of iron increased hemoglobin and reduced anemia but did not provide enough additional absorbed iron to also increase body iron stores. Food-to-food fortification by inclusion of vitamin C-rich fruits in iron-containing school meals may help alleviate the burden of anemia in children., Trial Registration Number: This trial was registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01191463., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) and aluminium activated malate transporter (ALMT) gene families are involved in response to aluminium (Al) stress. In this study, we identified 48 MATE and 14 ALMT gene families in Vigna radiata genome and classified into 5 (MATE) and 3 (ALMT) clades by phylogenetic analysis. All the VrMATE and VrALMT genes were distributed across mungbean chromosomes. Tandem duplication was the main driving force for evolution and expansion of MATE gene family. Collinearity of mungbean with soybean indicated that MATE gene family is closely linked to Glycine max. Eight MATE transporters in clade 2 were found to be associated with previously characterized Al tolerance related MATEs in various plant species. Citrate exuding motif (CEM) was present in seven VrMATEs of clade 2. Promoter analysis revealed abundant plant hormone and stress responsive cis-elements. Results from quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed that VrMATE19, VrMATE30 and VrALMT13 genes were markedly up-regulated at different time points under Al stress. Overall, this study offers a new direction for further molecular characterization of the MATE and ALMT genes in mungbean for Al tolerance., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Microplastics contamination poses a serious threat to marine biota, so the current study was carried out to assess the incidence of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of pelagic and benthic species collected from the six sampling sites along Thoothukudi region from January 2021 to December 2021. In the present study, benthic species (0.67 ± 0.14 MPs/indiv) showed a higher abundance of microplastics than pelagic species (0.53 ± 0.11 MPs/indiv). The dominance of microplastic shapes, sizes, colours and polymers found were comparable among both pelagic and benthic species, this being fibre (27.56% and 48.33%), 0.5-1mm (39.78% and 42.94%), blue (50% and 40.85%), and PE (46.24% and 48.18%), respectively. The present study showed that microplastics are ubiquitous in both habitats, which raises serious concerns for public health. Hence, measures focusing on reducing local emissions and plastic waste disposal should be implemented to control microplastic pollution in the marine environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a disease long dealt with, but still remains the second leading cause of death world-wide. The current anti-tubercular chemotherapy primarily targets the microbial pathogenesis, which however, is failing due to the development of drug resistance. Moreover, with fewer new drugs reaching the market, there is a need to focus on alternate treatment approaches that could be used as stand-alone or adjunct therapy and the existing drugs, referred to as Track II chemotherapy. This article is an attempt to review the changing global patterns of tuberculosis and its treatment. Further, newer drug delivery approaches like multi-particulate drug carriers which increase the therapeutic efficacy and bring down the systemic toxicity associated with drugs have also been discussed. There is also a need to use interventions which can be used as Track II therapy. Host-directed therapeutics (HDT) is an emerging area concept in which host cell functions and hence the response to pathogens can be modulated, which can help manage TB. HDT decreases damage induced due to inflammation and necrosis in the lungs and other parts of the body due to the disease. Various immuno-modulatory pathways have been discussed in this review which could be explored further to treat TB. An in-depth understanding of multi-particulate drug carriers and HDT could help in dealing with tuberculosis; however, there is still a long way to go., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors have none to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Tuberculosis Association of India. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Furious floods have become an omnipresent reality with the dawn of climate change and its transition to adulthood. Since climate change has now become an accepted reality, analysing the factors that favour or disfavour floods are an urgent requirement. Here we showcase the role of paleochannels, a product of migrating rivers, in a catastrophic flood in the south-western part of the Indian Peninsula. This study exposes whether these geomorphic features facilitate or impede floods. For the purpose of extracting paleochannels and floodwater mapping, we utilized multiple satellite datasets and took advantage of diversified feature selection algorithms. Paleochannels were demarcated viz., initial identification of a few paleochannels from literature and confirmation through high-resolution Google Earth (GE) images, followed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of Sentinel-2 images using Google Earth Engine (GEE), and a supervised classification of the principal bands 1, 2, and 3. False-positives were eliminated using Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA), which reduced the 964,254 polygons to 23,254. These polygons were visually affirmed using GE images that resulted in 115 paleochannels as the final collection. A few locations were verified through Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) using the Schlumberger method. The features were analysed with the floodwaters of the 2018 catastrophic flood, extracted from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, which was delineated for different temporal limits including the day of peak flood of August 17, 2018. During the peak flood, the inundation of the study area extended to 534.86 km2 with all the paleochannels getting immersed in floodwater. After 44 days of peak flood, the post-flood analysis revealed that when the floodwater receded 50%, the paleochannels emptied 87.39%, with the midland paleochannels discharging more than those of lowlands. Thus, such geomorphic features can be flood hotspots, but can be considered for discharging floodwater to mitigate flood risk in case of unprecedented rain., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Methane (CH 4 ) emission in rice fields is greatly influenced by the type and quantity of nitrogenous fertilizer used. The net methane emission from paddy fields is also influenced by the activity of methane utilizing bacteria, which inhabit the flooded paddy ecosystem. Efficient methane utilizing and plant growth promoting bacteria Methylobacterium oryzae MNL7 and Paenibacillus polymyxa MaAL70, respectively were co-inoculated along with different nitrogenous fertilizer combinations in flooded paddy to assess their impact on cumulative methane emission and crop growth promotion. Co-inoculation significantly influenced the plant growth parameters of paddy, resulting in an increase in grain yield by 14.04, 11.08, and 12.38% in treatments receiving Urea, Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) + Urea, or farm yard manure (FYM), over their respective un-inoculated plots. Significant improvement in the rice grain nutrient quality in term of crude protein, Fe and Zn content was observed as a result of bacterial co-inoculation in FYM fertilized plots as compared to Urea and DAP+ Urea fertilized plots. Significantly higher cumulative methane emission of 63.39 kg ha -1 was observed in uninoculated plots fertilized with FYM treatment as compared to Urea (33.83 kg ha -1 ) and DAP+Urea (31.66 kg ha -1 ) treatments. Bacterial co-inoculation significantly reduced the cumulative methane emission by 12.03, 11.47 and 6.92% in Urea, DAP+Urea, and FYM fertilized plots over their respective uninoculated treatments. Among the different fertilizer treatments, bacterial co-inoculation with urea application performed significantly better in reducing cumulative methane emission. These findings suggest that methane utilizing bacteria which also possess plant growth promoting trait can be explored for developing a novel biofertilizer for flooded paddies, as they can aid in managing both the overall methane emission and enhancing crop yield., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Wide sustainability and reusability of biomacromolecules such as carbohydrates and proteins-based biopolymers pave the way for providing maximal importance in the field of generating biopolymeric nanoparticles. As compared to synthetic nanomaterials, carbohydrate and protein based biopolymeric nanomaterials offer unique advantages that include antibacterial, biocompatible, immunogenicity, and biodegradable properties. Additionally, they have the significant property of more size distribution. Carbohydrate nanoparticles are primarily derived from the polysaccharide biopolymers such as alginate and chitosan; and protein nanoparticles are made from the diverse peptide biopolymers such as albumin, keratin, sericin, fibroin, gelatin and collagen. Advanced methods such as emulsification, desolvation, electrohydrodynamic atomization and coacervation are employed for the controlled fabrication of green biomacromolecules based nanoparticles. Suitability of biopolymeric nanoparticles in plethora of biotechnological applications are quite feasible with the advent of advanced technologies such as dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV visible spectroscopy etc. Applications of such biomacromolecules nanoparticles are highly prevalent in agriculture, food, and biomedical industries. Thus, contributions of biopolymeric nanoparticles derived from carbohydrates and proteins biomacromolecules and their recent trends of patents granted in the biotechnological applications are critically discussed along with a promising future scope., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) is a potent hepatotoxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic compound. It induces massive liver cell necrosis and death in experimental animals. Several drugs have been tested in the past for their protective behavior against DMN toxicity. However, it is for the first time that therapeutic intervention of ZnONPs (zinc oxide nanoparticles) has been studied against its toxicity. Present results show that a post treatment of ZnONPs (50 mg/kg) to DMN (2 μl/100 g body weight) treated rats reduces lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress and fibrosis in the liver. It diminishes serum ALT (alanine transaminases), AST (aspartate transaminases) and LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) showing improvement in liver function. Reduced values of proinflammatory cytokines viz. TNF-α and IL-12 also support its protective effects. Histopathological observations also indicate improvement in liver cell morphology. It is postulated that ZnONPs offer protection through selective toxicity to proliferating tissue including adenomatous islands formed in the liver. Zinc metallothionein (Zn-MT) induced by ZnONPs may also contribute in the amelioration of DMN induced toxic effects. Diminution of oxidative stress by ZnONPs remains to be the key mechanism involved in its protective effects. However, toxicity of ZnONPs in the liver needs to be monitored simultaneously., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim Doxorubicin (Dox) is one of the most cardiotoxic anti-cancerous drug that is widely used for broad-range of cancers. There is an urgent need for developing cardio-oncological therapeutic interventions. Natural products having both anti-cancerous potential as well as cardioprotective effects may hold a great potential in this regard. Curcuma longa (an Indian herb) polyphenols including curcumin, and well known for its anti-oxidative and anti-cancerous potential was used in the present study for its synergistic effect on cancer cells and cardiomyocytes., Material and Methods: Preliminary dose dependent analysis for cell viability was conducted by MTT and trypan blue assays where the effects of curcumin and Dox on cancer cell progression and cardiotoxicity were studied. Microscopic studies were done to analyse the morphological alterations of cells followed by intracellular ROS production studies by NBT and DCFH-DA assays. Apoptotic cellular death was studied by caspase activity and Annexin/PI FACS analysis. TUNEL assay was done followed by expression analysis of different cellular death biomarkers by quantitative real-time PCR., Key Findings: We observed that dose dependent cardiotoxicity of Dox can be significantly minimized by supplementing it with curcumin. Curcumin supplementation exaggerates oxidative stress and apoptosis leading to cancer cell death by modulating pro- and anti-apoptotic biomarkers., Significance: The combination treatment with curcumin results in achieving the desired anti-cancerous effect of Dox without compromising its activity and hence, reduces the possibility of its dose mediated cardiotoxic effects. Hence, curcumin holds a great potential for cardio-oncological therapeutic interventions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Increased body weight and metabolic disorder including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications together constitute metabolic syndrome. The pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome involves multitude of factors. A number of studies however indicate, with some conformity, that oxidative stress along with chronic inflammatory condition pave the way for the development of metabolic diseases. Oxidative stress, a state of lost balance between the oxidative and anti-oxidative systems of the cells and tissues, results in the over production of oxidative free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Excessive ROS generated could attack the cellular proteins, lipids and nucleic acids leading to cellular dysfunction including loss of energy metabolism, altered cell signalling and cell cycle control, genetic mutations, altered cellular transport mechanisms and overall decreased biological activity, immune activation and inflammation. In addition, nutritional stress such as that caused by high fat high carbohydrate diet also promotes oxidative stress as evident by increased lipid peroxidation products, protein carbonylation, and decreased antioxidant system and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. These changes lead to initiation of pathogenic milieu and development of several chronic diseases. Studies suggest that in obese person oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are the important underlying factors that lead to development of pathologies such as carcinogenesis, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases through altered cellular and nuclear mechanisms, including impaired DNA damage repair and cell cycle regulation. Here we discuss the aspects of metabolic disorders-induced oxidative stress in major pathological conditions and strategies for their prevention and therapy., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Heart is an organ which is under a constant work load that generates numerous stress responses. Heart failure is associated with increased plasma norepinephrine (NE) and hypertrophic cell death. Within the current study we try to understand the concentration dependent molecular switch from hypertrophy to apoptosis under stress., Methods: The effect of increasing concentration of NE on cell death was studied using MTT assay based on which further experimental conditions were decided. Trypan Blue staining and TUNEL assay were done at selected concentrations of NE. Cellular and nuclear morphology at these concentrations was studied using Haematoxylin-Eosin, DAPI and PI stains. The molecular switch between hypertrophy and cell death was studied by expression analysis of β-MyHC and TNF-α. Rhodamine and DCFH-DA staining were done to evaluate the role of mitochondria and ROS under these conditions. Role of caspases under these transitions was also evaluated., Result: NE shows steep falls in cell viability at 50 μM and 100 μM concentrations. The cellular and nuclear morphology is altered at these concentrations along with alterations at molecular level showing a shift from hypertrophy towards cell death. Altered mitochondrial membrane potential and increase in ROS support this which leads to caspase dependent activation of cell death., Conclusion: We show that at 50 μM NE, there occurs a transition from cellular hypertrophy towards death. This could be beneficial to prevent hypertrophy induced cardiac cell death and evaluating cardio protective therapeutic targets in vitro., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy specific syndrome characterized by hypertension and proteinuria. Defective placentation during early stages of pregnancy in combination with maternal and environmental factors could lead to systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and the manifestation of the clinical symptoms. HLA-G is considered essential for feto-maternal immune tolerance and successful placentation in pregnancy. ACE promotes decidualization, trophoblast proliferation and plays an important role in blood pressure homeostasis. The HLA-G 14bp and ACE IN/DEL polymorphisms have been reported to be associated with the development of pre-eclampsia (PE). The present study aimed at investigating the role of HLA-G and ACE gene polymorphisms in the aetiopathogenesis of PE. A total of 412 (206 PE patients and 206 normal pregnant women) blood samples were collected from Govt. maternity hospital, Hyderabad, India. Genotyping was carried out for both the genes using PCR followed by PAGE for HLA-G and AGE for ACE gene polymorphisms. DD(ACE) genotype was observed to be elevated (52.9% vs. 31.1%) in the patient group and ID(ACE) (29.6% vs. 54.8%) in the control group (p<0.05). However, HLA-G polymorphism did not differ between patients and controls (p>0.05). Further, combined genotype analysis revealed ID(HLA-G) DD(ACE) to be predisposing genotypes and ID(HLA-G) ID(ACE) to be protective toward preeclampsia in south Indian Women. The ACE genotype (DD(ACE)) is associated with high levels of angiotensin and seems to predispose the individual to PE. However, women carrying the intermediate levels of ACE and HLA-G associated combined genotype (ID(HLA-G) ID(HLA-G)) appear to be protective against developing PE., (Copyright © 2014 International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tea is one of the most popularly consumed beverage. Depending on the manufacturing process, different varieties of tea can be produced. The antioxidative and antimutagenic potential of tea in cardiovascular diseases, cancer and obesity have long been studied. These therapeutic and nutritional benefits of tea can be attributed to the presence of flavanoids. However, these flavanoids also have certain detrimental effects on human health when their consumption exceeds certain limits. The toxicity of these flavanoids can be attributed to the formation of reactive oxygen species in the body which causes damage to the DNA, lipid membranes etc. The aim of this review is to summarize briefly, the less studied evidences of various forms of toxicity associated with tea and its harmful effects on human health., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The loss of the H(2)O(2) scavenger protein encoded by Prdx1 in mice leads to an elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and tumorigenesis of different tissues. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) mutations could initiate tumorigenesis through loss of tumor suppressor gene function in heterozygous somatic cells. A connection between the severity of ROS and the frequency of LOH mutations in vivo has not been established. Therefore, in this study, we characterized in vivo LOH in ear fibroblasts and splenic T cells of 3-4 month old Prdx1 deficient mice. We found that the loss of Prdx1 significantly elevates ROS amounts in T cells and fibroblasts. The basal amounts of ROS were higher in fibroblasts than in T cells, probably due to a less robust Prdx1 peroxidase activity in the former. Using Aprt as a LOH reporter, we observed an elevation in LOH mutation frequency in fibroblasts, but not in T cells, of Prdx1(-/-) mice compared to Prdx1(+/+) mice. The majority of the LOH mutations in both cell types were derived from mitotic recombination (MR) events. Interestingly, Mlh1, which is known to suppress MR between divergent sequences, was found to be significantly down-regulated in fibroblasts of Prdx1(-/-) mice. Therefore, the combination of elevated ROS amounts and down-regulation of Mlh1 may have contributed to the elevation of MR in fibroblasts of Prdx1(-/-) mice. We conclude that each tissue may have a distinct mechanism through which Prdx1 deficiency promotes tumorigenesis., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

An important aspect of orthopedic implant integration is the enhancement of functional activity of osteoblasts at the tissue-implant interface without any fibrous tissue intervention. Nanostructured implant surfaces are known to enhance osteoblast activity. Previously, we have reported a simple hydrothermal method for the fabrication of non-periodic nanostructures (nanoscaffold, nanoleaves and nanoneedles) on titanium implants showing good biocompatibility and a distinct osteoblast response in vitro in terms of osteoblast adhesion to the surface. In the present work, these nanostructures have been evaluated for their detailed in vitro cellular response as well as in vivo osteointegration. Our studies showed that a specific surface nanomorphology, viz. nanoleaves, which is a network of vertically aligned, non-periodic, leaf-like structures with thickness in the nanoscale, provided a distinct increase in osteoblast cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and collagen synthesis compared to several other types of nanomorphology, such as nanotubes, nanoscaffold and nanoneedles (rods). Gene expression analysis of ALP, osteocalcin, collagen, decorin and Runx2 showed ~20- to 40-fold up-regulation on the leaf-like topography. Cytoskeletal arrangement studies on this substrate again revealed a unique response with favorable intracellular protein expressions of vinculin, FAK and src. In vivo osteointegration study over 12 weeks on rat model (Sprague-Dawley) showed early-stage bone formation (60% bone contact by week 2 and ~85% by week 8, p<0.01) in the leaf-like nanopattern, without any inflammatory cytokine production., (Copyright © 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chitin is a novel biopolymer and has excellent biological properties such as biodegradation in the human body and biocompatible, bioabsorable, antibacterial and wound healing activities. In this work, alpha- and beta-chitin membranes were prepared using alpha- and beta-chitin hydrogel. The bioactivity studies were carried out using these chitin membranes with the simulated body fluid solution (SBF) for 7, 14 and 21 days. After 7, 14 and 21 days the membranes were characterized using SEM, EDS and FT-IR. The SEM, EDS and FT-IR studies confirmed the formation of calcium phosphate layer on the surface of the both chitin membranes. These results indicate that the prepared chitin membranes were bioactive. Cell adhesion studies were also carried out using MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. The cells were adhered and spread over the membrane after 24h of incubation. These results indicated that the chitin membranes could be used for tissue-engineering applications.

Chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin is a commonly studied biomaterial for tissue-engineering applications due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity, antibacterial activity, wound healing ability and haemostatic properties. However, chitosan has poor mechanical strength due to which its applications in orthopedics are limited. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is a natural inorganic component of bone and teeth and has mechanical strength and osteoconductive property. In this work, HAp was deposited on the surface of chitosan hydrogel membranes by a wet chemical synthesis method by alternatively soaking the membranes in CaCl(2) (pH 7.4) and Na(2)HPO(4) solutions for different time intervals. These chitosan hydrogel-HAp membranes were characterized using SEM, AFM, EDS, FT-IR and XRD analyses. MTT assay was done to evaluate the biocompatibility of these membranes using MG-63 osteosarcoma cells. The biocompatibility studies suggest that chitosan hydrogel-HAp composite membranes can be useful for tissue-engineering applications.

The chitin/gelatin composite membranes were prepared by mixing of chitin hydrogel with gelatin. The prepared composite membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), mechanical, swelling, enzymatic degradation and thermal studies. The XRD pattern of the chitin/gelatin composite membranes showed almost the same pattern as alpha-chitin. The bioactivity studies of these chitin/gelatin membranes were carried out with the simulated body fluid solution (SBF) for 7, 14 and 21 days followed by the characterization with the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectrum (EDS) studies. The SEM and EDS studies confirmed the formation of calcium phosphate layer on the surface of chitin/gelatin membranes. Biocompatibility of the chitin/gelatin membrane was assessed using human MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. After 48 h of incubation, it was found that the cells had attached and completely covered the membrane surface. Thus, the prepared chitin/gelatin membranes are bioactive and are suitable for cell adhesion suggesting that these membranes can be used for tissue-engineering applications.

Enormity of the metazoan genomes and divergence in their regulation impose a serious constraint on the comprehensive understanding of context specific gene regulation. DNA elements located in the promoter, enhancer, and other regulatory regions of the genome dictate the temporal and spatial patterns of gene activities. However, owing to the diminutive and variable nature of the regulatory DNA elements, their identification and location remains a major challenge. We have developed an efficient strategy for isolating a repertoire of target sites for sequence specific DNA binding proteins from embryonic chick heart. A comprehensive library of such sequences was constructed and authenticated using various parameters including in silico determination of functional binding sites. This approach, therefore, for the first time, established an experimental and conceptual framework for defining the entire repertoire of functional DNA elements in any cellular context.