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The total blue carbon stock of the Bangladesh Sundarban mangroves was evaluated and the probable future status after a century was predicted based on the recent trend of changes in the last 30 years and implementing a hybrid model of Markov Chain and Cellular automata. At present 36.24 Tg C and 54.95 Tg C are stored in the above-ground and below-ground compartments respectively resulting in total blue carbon stock of 91.19 Tg C. According to the prediction 15.88 Tg C would be lost from this region by the year 2115. The low saline species composition classes dominated mainly by Heritiera spp. accounts for the major portion of the carbon sock at present (45.60 Tg C), while the highly saline regions stores only 14.90 Tg C. The prediction shows that after a hundred years almost 22.42 Tg C would be lost from the low saline regions accompanied by an increase of 8.20 Tg C in the high saline regions dominated mainly by Excoecaria sp. and Avicennia spp. The net carbon loss would be due to both mangrove area loss (~ 510 km) and change in species composition leading to 58.28 Tg of potential CO emission within the year 2115. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) breathing and guest exchange properties of a series of CoII metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are reported. A new bis-pyridyl-bis-amide ligand, namely 4,4′-oxybis(N-(pyridine-4-yl)benzamide) (LP1), produced two MOFs, namely [{Co(LP1)(IPA)}(DMF)2(H2O)]∞ (1) and [{Co2(LP1)2(TPA)2}(DMF)4]∞ (2) under solvothermal conditions (IPA = isophthalate, TPA = terephthlate). While 1 showed excellent SCSC breathing responsive to both heat and guests (acetone, DMSO, MeOH, DEF), 2 displayed no breathing under similar conditions. However, it showed excellent SCSC guest (acetone, DMSO) exchange properties. Single-crystal structural analyses revealed that the conformational flexibility of the ligand LP1 played a crucial role both in breathing in 1 and in guest exchange in 2. Compound 1 also displayed heat responsive magnetic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agro-climatic factors largely regulate expression of phenolic compounds in plants. Carlinoside, a flavone glycoside, is known to eliminate bilirubin accumulation in rat liver. We cultivated Cajanus cajan uniformly in two different soil types - alluvial (AL) and laterite (LA). The climatic attributes and soil physicochemical properties of the two localities were significantly different from each other. Carlinoside, phenol and flavonoid concentrations were higher in plants grown in AL than in LA soils. We recorded higher UGT1A1 expression in liver hepatoma cell line HepG2 and rats treated with plant extracts from AL compared to LA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is dramatically increasing in the past few decades and presently affecting more than 350 million people all over the globe. Oversupply of lipid is one of the major forces behind T2D. Excess of lipid decreases insulin sensitivity or activity that causes insulin resistance, a stage which occupies the centre of pathogenesis in T2D. Lipid induces adipose tissue inflammation that accompanies certain critical defects in adipocytes, a major cell in abdominal adipose tissue. These include increased population of hypertrophied adipocytes, decline in adipokines secretion, attenuation of adipogenesis, and increased lipotoxicity effecting greater deposition of fat which interferes with glucose uptake by insulin target cells. Inflammation of adipose tissue is further intensified due to the infiltration of macrophages, a member of the innate immune system, and their transformation from anti-inflammatory M2 to proinflammatory M1 phenotype. Hence, secretion of proinflammatory cytokines from both M1 macrophage and inflamed adipocytes is greatly elevated which adversely causes insulin resistance that leads to T2D. Association between lipid-induced inflammation and insulin resistance makes diabetes a critical disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Nicotine is an abundant and most significant component of cigarette smoke. Epidemiological evidence strongly suggests an association between cigarette smoking and pancreatic injury, although effects of smoking on endocrine pancreas are still controversial. Objective: We examined the impact and underlying mechanisms of action of folic acid and vitamin B12on nicotine-induced damage in pancreatic islets of rats. Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats were treated with nicotine (3 mg/kg body weight/d, intraperitonealy) with or without folic acid (36 µg/kg body weight/d, orally) and vitamin B12(0.63 µg/kg body weight/d, orally) for 21 d. Fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance test, HBA1c, insulin, oxidative stress parameters, proinflammatory cytokines, and CRP level were measured. Histological evaluation, TUNEL assay, and immunohistochemical staining of NF-κB and caspase-3 were also performed. Results: Folic acid and vitamin B12blunted the nicotine-induced impairment in fasting blood glucose (51–56% recovery), HbA1c(64–76% recovery), oral glucose tolerance, insulin level (23–40% recovery), and islet cell counts (26–74% recovery) in rats. Moreover, folic acid in combination with vitamin B12also attenuated the nicotine-induced changes in markers of oxidative stress (17–88% recovery), TNF-α (40–99% recovery), and IL-6 level (47–65% recovery), CRP level (59–73% recovery), expression of NF-κB and caspase-3, and apoptosis in pancreatic islet cells. Discussion and conclusion: The present study shows that folic acid and vitamin B12supplementation can reduce nicotine-induced impairment in glucose homeostasis and apoptosis and damage of pancreatic islet cells by modulating oxidative stress, levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and expression of NF-κB. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Coastal zones are often prone to several natural hazards, and where the coastal zone has high population density and infrastructural assets, these hazards can render severe loss to both life and properties. The present paper reports a comprehensive assessment of the multi-hazard and multi-risk (keeping in view the population and assets exposed to multi-hazards) in the Balasore coast, situated in the state of Odisha, India, facing the Bay of Bengal immediately to its east. In most of the multi-hazard and multi-risk assessments, the importance of any one hazard in relation to others is often determined arbitrarily. To overcome this limitation, this work presents a multi-criteria analysis implemented on six hazards, namely coastal erosion, storm surge, sea level rise, coastal flooding, tsunami, and earthquake. The respective hazards were ranked according to their relative weight computed by pair-wise comparison, and the overall multi-hazard map of the coast was prepared using weighted overlay technique in GIS environment. In order to assess the exposure, population density and urban assets of the study area were also mapped. Finally, the population and urban density data were overlain on the multi-hazard map in order to derive the final map portraying the multi-risk of the Balasore coast. Coastal erosion and storm surge inundation are the two most substantial natural hazards that regularly affect this coast. It is also observed that hazard from the perspective of coastal erosion is spatially concentrated along the central part of the coast, while in the southern part, the effect of storm surge is higher. The area in and around Chandipur, which is situated in the central portion of the Balasore coast, has been found to have the highest multi-risk, which also happens to be a popular tourist destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of enzymes in different industrial sectors increased significantly due to huge industrialization. Different types of protease and amylase are randomly used in industries including food, textile, and paper. For this purpose, purification of extracellular protease and amylase produced by the bacterium, Corynebacterium alkanolyticum ATH3 (Acc. No. JX656749) isolated from the distal intestine of a freshwater fish, Anabas testudineus, was carried out using column chromatography. The specific activity of protease and amylase significantly increased with each step of purification and finally became 93.73 and 88.1 U/mg protein with a purification fold 26.03 and 44.94, respectively. The sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed molecular weight of purified protease and amylase was ∼17 and ∼28 kDa, respectively. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of ∼17 kDa protease and ∼28 kDa amylase from the bacterial strain C. alkanolyticum ATH3. Further, enzyme activity was also evidenced by zymography analysis. The enzymes acted optimally at pH 7.5-8.0 and temperature 35-45 $${^{\circ}{\rm C}}$$ , respectively. So, due to cheapest source, these two enzymes are very important for various purposes in industrial sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination-driven self-assembly of 3-(5-(pyridin-3-yl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)pyridine (L) was investigated with 90°cis-blocked Pd(ii) acceptors and tetratopic Pd(NO3)2. Although the ligand is capable of binding in several different conformations (acting as a ditopic donor through the pyridyl nitrogens), the experimental results (including X-ray structures) showed that it adopts a particular conformation when it binds with 90°cis-blocked Pd(ii) acceptors (two available sites) to yield [2 + 2] self-assembled macrocycles. On the other hand, with Pd(NO3)2 (where four available sites are present) a different conformer of the same donor was selectively bound to form a molecular cubic cage. The experimental findings were corroborated well with the density functional theory (B3LYP) calculations. The tetratopic Pd(NO3)2 yielded a [6 + 12] self-assembled Pd6L12 molecular cube, which contains a potential void occupied by nitrate and perchlorate ions. Being a triazole based ligand, the free space inside the cage is enriched with several sp2 hybridised nitrogen atoms with lone pairs of electrons to act as Lewis basic sites. Knoevenagel condensation reactions of several aromatic aldehydes with active methylene compounds were successfully performed in reasonably high yields in the presence of the cage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess whether postoperative quality of life (QOL) for composite aortic root replacement patients differs according to whether it is based on the use of mechanical valves or bioprosthetic valves. Methods: The study included 146 consecutive patients who underwent composite aortic root replacement at our institution from January 2010 to April 2014 with bioprosthetic (34.9%, n = 51) and mechanical (65.1%, n = 95) valves. Patient-perceived QOL was measured by administering the Short Form (SF)-36v2 Health Survey and a series of supplemental questions to further evaluate valve-specific differences. Final survey participation (n = 121) included 82.9% of the qualifying patients, and involved 76.5% (39/51) of those with bioprosthetic valves and 86.3% (82/95) of those with mechanical valves. Reasons for not completing the survey included 5 expired patients (3.4%), 1 lost due to a language barrier (0.7%), 6 who refused to participate (4.1%) and 13 who were lost to follow-up (8.9%). The mean follow-up time was 32 months (range 4-56 months). Results: Patients in the bioprosthetic valve group were older (mean age 67.5 ± 13.6 years) and included more females (25.6% or 10/39) than those in the mechanical valve group (mean age 56.6 ± 12.0 years; 11.0% or 9/82 were female). No significant differences were found between the bioprosthetic and mechanical valve groups for any QOL aspects scored by the SF-36v2 survey. All 8 domains and 2 summary scales comprising the QOL evaluation were above national norms calculated using gender- and age-matched, norm-based scoring for a standard national average of 50. The supplemental questions indicated satisfaction with each valve type despite characteristics that were of concern to patients. In the mechanical valve group, 90.2% (74/82) reported that the audible valve click was not troublesome, 85.4% (70/82) that taking a blood thinner regularly did not affect daily life and 81.7% (67/82) that blood testing for anticoagulation therapy was not troublesome. Conclusions: Receiving a tissue or a mechanical valve does not directly affect postoperative QOL. Answers to supplemental questions suggest that prior concerns with mechanical valves do not affect patients in the commonly anticipated negative manner. The preconception of a heavy QOL burden for mechanical composite grafts is contradicted by this study. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new oxy(ether)tris(amine) macrocycle, MC has been synthesized for CuII complex formation within the cavity of the macrocyclic wheel in endotopic fashion. This complex is further reacted with the bidentate chelating ligands, 1,10-phenanthroline (L1), 2,2′-bipyridyl (L2), 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyl (L3) and 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyl (L4) to achieve the pseudorotaxanes PRT1–PRT4, respectively. These bis-heteroleptic complexes were characterized by the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), UV/Vis, EPR spectroscopy and Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis. Binding constants of the heteroleptic complexes were found in the range of 1.16 × 102 to 1.55 × 103 M−1 in acetonitrile. Further, the double level selectivity studies of MC using different metal ions [CoII, NiII, CuII, ZnII] and a number of simple bidentate chelating ligands shows the selective formation of PRT1 that justifies the self-sorting nature of the system. Further, substitution of axles from pseudorotaxanes PRT2–PRT4 could also be achieved by L1 with nearly 100% efficiency. To corroborate the experimental studies (comparison with the crystal geometry, importance of the π–π stacking, etc.) the geometries of the pseudorotaxanes were optimized using DFT (B3LYP) in the gas phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is known to be a difficult cancer to treat because of its poor prognosis, limited option for surgery, and resistance to chemo or radiotherapy. In this study, we have demonstrated that suppression of rictor expression in A549 and H1299 NSCLC cells by mahanine, a carbazole alkaloid, disrupted constitutive activation of mTOR and Akt. Mahanine suppression of rictor gene expression and consequent attenuation of its protein expression affected the inhibition of mTOR (Ser-2481) and Akt (Ser-473) phosphorylation. Since mahanine treatment revealed this new insight of rictor-mTOR relationship, we examined an association between mTOR activation with rictor expression. Interestingly, in rictor knockdown (KD) NSCLC cells, mTOR activation was significantly impaired. Transfection of rictor over-expression vector into the NSCLC cells reversed this situation. In fact, both rictor KD and mahanine treated cells showed considerably depleted phospho-mTOR level. These results indicate that rictor is required to maintain constitutive activation of mTOR in lung cancer cells. When mTOR kinase activity in rictor KD cells was examined with Akt as substrate, a significant reduction of Akt phosphorylation indicated impairment of mTOR kinase potentiality. Disruption of mTOR and Akt activation caused drastic mortality of NSCLC cancer cells through apoptosis. Hence, our study reveals a new dimension in mTOR-rictor relationship, where rictor stands to be a suitable therapeutic target for lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) provides basic information about terrain relief and is used for morphological characterisation, hydrological modelling and infrastructural studies. This paper investigates the accuracy of DEM and its derived attributes in multiple scales. This study was carried out for a part of Shiwalik Himalaya using Cartosat-1 stereo pair data. DEM at various cell sizes were generated and information content was compared using mean elevation, variance and entropy statistics. Various post-spacing DEMs were validated to understand variation in vertical accuracy along different scales. The vertical accuracy (3.14-7.24 m) is affected in larger spacing DEM and elevation is underestimated. Slope of terrain also has similar impacts. The DEM and slope accuracy are also affected by the terrain roughness while assessing coarser grid size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]