Search

The electrical and mechanical properties of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca3Cu4Oy precursor rods were examined as a function of the mold temperature during melt casting. It was shown that the temperature to which a mold was preheated determines the resistivity and occurrence of inhomogeneous joule heating in precursors. In addition, it was suggested that the crystalline inclusions in precursors prepared by this method caused the resistivity to drop with increasing temperature.

Krishnendu Manna,1,* Zareen S Khan,2,* Moumita Saha,3,* Snehasis Mishra,3 Nilesh Gaikwad,4 Jatindra Nath Bhakta,1 Kaushik Banerjee,2 Krishna Das Saha3 1Department of Food & Nutrition, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India; 2National Referral Laboratory, ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune, Maharashtra, 412307, India; 3Cancer Biology and Inflammatory Disorder Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700032, India; 4ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate, Solapur, Maharashtra, 413255, India*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Krishna Das Saha, Cancer Biology and Inflammatory Disorder Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4, Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700032, India, Tel +91 33 2499 5810, Fax +91 33 2473 5197, Email krishna@iicb.res.in Kaushik Banerjee, National Referral Laboratory, ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune, Maharashtra, 412307, India, Email kbgrape@yahoo.comObjective: Grape Seed Extract is a natural source of various polyphenols, which have been shown to possess potent antioxidant and free radical-scavenging activities. The earlier studies have reported that grape seed extract exhibits broad-spectrum pharmacological activities. Therefore, studying the hepatoprotective effects and elucidation of mechanisms of action of the Indian Variety, Manjari Medika grape seed extract (GSE), may give an insight into therapeutic benefits. Methotrexate (MTX) is the first-line pharmacological therapy for different rheumatic diseases. The major adverse events such as hepatotoxicity are evident even in the low doses used for the treatment. The present study investigated the role of MTX on hepatic damage in murine liver and the plausible protective effects of the Indian grape variety, Manjari Medika grape seed extract, in ameliorating it.Methods and Results: To assess the hepatological modulation, mice were divided into eight groups to investigate the ameliorative potential of this GSE (75 and 125 mg/kg) and correlate the experimental findings. The active components of the extract were assessed through UPLC-(ESI)-QToF-MS analysis. On the other hand, various biochemical and immunological indices were carried out to correlate the experimental data. The result demonstrated that the prophylactic administration of GSE reduced MTX-induced hepatic toxicity indices, which subsequently restored the hepatic morphological architecture. Moreover, the application of GSE in a dual dosage (75 and 125 mg/kg) suppressed MTX-induced reactive oxygen species generation, followed by lipid peroxidation and cellular nitrite formation. MTX-induced inflammasome activation through the redox-assisted cascade of TLR4/NF-κB signaling was further reduced by applying the GSE. The results showed that the activation of cytoprotective transcription factor Nrf2 enhanced the level of endogenous antioxidants. Furthermore, through the regulation of TLR4/NF-κB and Nrf2/HO-1 axis, this extract could reduce the MTX-mediated hepatic damage.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Manjari Medika seed extract could be used as a therapeutic agent to relieve the side effects of MTX and other hepatic disorders.Graphical Abstract: Keywords: hepatic fibrosis, Kupffer cells, Manjari Medika grape seed extract, proanthocyanidins, inflammasome, antioxidant response

Global warming and climate change are though known for widespread negative impacts, they do have beneficial as well, but are less known. Here, we studied the interactive impacts of greenhouse mediated raised temperature and manure driven decomposition-cum-total environment on reproductive success of cichlid fish tilapia. Fishes were kept in holding tanks (300 L) placed inside and outside the solar heated structure (modular green house) using identical and comparable doses of organic manure in triplicate during the winter. The manure selected were: (a) cattle manure and saw dust; (b) poultry droppings and saw dust; (c) vermicompost and saw dust; (d) mixed manure with cattle manure, poultry droppings, vermicompost and saw dust; isocarbonic states maintained with (e) vermicompost, and (f) with poultry droppings. Equal number of adult male (8) and female (8) tilapia (1:1) were introduced per tank and reared for 90 days. Water and sediment samples were collected weekly and analyzed for different parameters. Net increment of body weight and production of fry per tank were recorded. Survival of fish was about 10% higher under greenhouse condition compared to ambient air temperature outside. The synergistic effects of manure driven water quality-food resource complex and temperature appeared to be more important than the impact of temperature alone in selecting the treatment that developed the total benign environment and induced tilapia to spawn during winter. The carbon burial rate dependent soil organic carbon had been significantly increased as a consequence of greenhouse effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the impact of global warming under simulated green house condition on the breeding potentials of tilapia and growth of some Indian carps in small holding tanks. Topics discussed include the growth reduction of tilapia inside the polyhouse as attributed to the energy diversion from somatic to temperature induced gonadal activities and the profitability of using closed poly-house for breeding and growth of tilapia and other Indian fishes during winter.

The present investigation attempted to develop the ceramic adsorbent media in order to remove the mercury from aqueous phase. Two ceramics, akadama volcanic ash soil-ceramic (A-ceramic) and improved magnesium oxide impregnated akadama volcanic ash soil-ceramic (MA-ceramic) were produced from raw akadama volcanic ash soil by heating process to determine the Hg(II) adsorption capacity. Adsorption experiments of ceramics were performed as a function of contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dosage and adsorbate concentration following the batch mode operation. Results clearly revealed the adsorption capacity (265±8.5 μg/g) of MA-ceramic is significantly higher (~12 times) than that of the A-ceramic material. The adsorption was largely pH dependent and neutral pH was associated with higher mercury adsorption capacity in both ceramics. MA-ceramic showed 94% and 86% desorption and resorption capacities, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present survey synthesized information on fish biodiversity in the perennial freshwater body of Ramnagar, East Midnapore district of West Bengal, India. We documented 45 fish species under 29 genera, 18 families and 8 orders during the periods from1990 to 1995, whereas, 34 species from 21 genera and 12 families under 7 orders were recorded presently from freshwater body of different perennial pond. This present database of ichthyofauna clearly indicated that 11 fish species, 8 genera, 6 families and 1 order have lost from this investigated area. Basically, this agricultural based area associated with profuse application of various chemicals, poisons and drugs in agricultural field that largely pollute perennial water body and ultimately exerting growing pressure on living aquatic resources and driven significant fish biodiversity decline. However, over fishing, chemicals, agricultural runoff and other forms of pollution are most important factors which should be restricted for the conservation of freshwater fish biodiversity. Therefore, it may be concluded that preparation of zone wise database of these information and their implementation through Government and various Non-Government Organizations would be the key tools for conservation of freshwater fish biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mind-Body Medicine (MBM) program at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, created in collaboration with the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine and the Home Base Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, is a 7-week program designed to facilitate stress management habits into patient treatment plans. The aim of this study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a mind-body program for service members and veterans. Participants (N = 239) were primarily active duty service members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps reporting significant perceived stress (Stress Resiliency (SR) group; n = 124), or meeting criteria for chronic pain (Pain Management (PM) group; n = 115). Participants completed measures at preprogram and post-program assessing for perceived stress, pain, functional impairment, quality of life, and psychological and somatic symptoms. Changes in self-reported psychological symptoms and knowledge and practice of mind-body principles were examined. Participants across groups had significant improvement in most outcomes (perceived stress, response to stressful experience, functional impairment, sleep disturbance, depression, PTSD, and anxiety symptoms; and each quality of life domain aside from social relationships), with p values < .0017 (Bonferroni corrected level of significance). The SR group demonstrated significant improvements in primary outcomes of perceived stress and response to stressful experience, and the PM group demonstrated significant improvement in pain severity, but not perceived stress. Significant change was observed in knowledge and practice of mind-body medicine principles, and high satisfaction was reported. Results suggest that a mind-body program may improve physical and psychological functioning for service members, including those facing significant perceived stress and chronic pain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction: Embedding mental health providers directly into operational units provides opportunities for holistic individual and population focused mental health support. To effectively provide clinical mental health care to a large number of Sailors and Marines while supporting the larger command, it is crucial to arrive at an optimal number of mental health (MH) care staff. In response to an increasing demand for MH care by operational units distributed globally, the U.S. Navy (USN) critically analyzed the current MH staffing levels, estimated future demand for MH care providers, and evaluated several staffing options. The following article illustrates a case study of workforce planning for the USN's embedded MH delivery model., Materials and Methods: Several existing data sources were used to calculate current number of MH care staff across all USN platforms and to estimate demand for MH care. An open source Linear Programming application was used to estimate staffing solutions that meet business requirements in the most efficient manner possible., Results: Results suggested different conclusions for embedded mental health staffing across USN communities. Depending on existing staffing levels and the number of Sailors or Marines anticipated to require care, the Linear Programming algorithm estimated needed staffing levels to address demand., Conclusion: The current project represents the first systematic workforce planning initiative designed to help staff the USN's global demand for community focused MH care. The results of this project have identified areas where additional embedded mental health resources should be made available. By systematically documenting all services and capabilities and carefully examining the operational demands of each community, the current solution was able to identify precisely what type of MH resources should be allocated to a given community., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2020. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

The responses of cellulase enzymes of three bacterial isolates and their impacts on cattle manure decomposition were assessed in a greenhouse model in vivo pond ecosystem. Fifty grams of fresh cattle manure was placed in a fastened nylon bag (mesh size ~ 50 μm dia.) and placed in triplicate in a plastic bucket with 10 l of pond water which was hung inside the enclosed polyhouse, semi-closed and open systems for 4 weeks. Samples of manure residue directly from nylon bag and water from manure leached bucket water, water, and soil from the enclosed polyhouse were collected for enzymatic assays, enumeration of aerobic cellulose decomposing and heterotrophic bacteria, and determination of water and soil quality parameters. Responses of cellulases to different temperatures in situ were also elucidated. The values of test bacteria, endoglucanase, exoglucanase and β-glucosidase, and organic carbon were significantly (P ˂ 0.05) higher in the closed system compared to semi-closed or open system. Priming of all the enzymes coupled with the peak of aerobic cellulose decomposing bacteria and heterotrophic bacterial populations occurred on the day 14 or 21 in vivo. Since the peaks of three cellulases of bacterial isolates (KUPH1, KUPH6, and KUPH8) were demonstrated between 35 and 40 °C, and that temperature coincided with temperature of the greenhouse model, this temperature range appeared to favor the growth of cellulose decomposing bacterial populations and involved cellulase enzymes.