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Background: Pregnancy is the physiological process in a woman's reproductive life. Though all pregnancies carry a risk, almost all pregnancies go uneventfully. In normal pregnancy, as the gestation advances, there is a physiological rise in triglycerides and cholesterol. Hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia are markers of preterm labor, as atherosis of uteroplacental spiral arteries can result in preterm labor. Aims & objectives: To evaluate the correlation of increased levels of fats in uncomplicated gestation with preterm delivery Materials & methods: An observational study was conducted prospectively in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology in Sree Balaji Medical College & Hospital, Chennai from Jan 2021 to July 2022, which included all Antenatal women between 14 to 32 weeks with no complications and who are planning to deliver in SBMCH. Results: Out of 290 Pregnant Women, 90.7% delivered at full term, whereas 9.3% had preterm deliveries. 12% had high serum cholesterol levels & 7.5% of them had hypertriglyceridemia. In this study, women who had preterm deliveries had elevated levels of lipids such as LDL and triglycerides, which is statistically significant. Conclusion: Early births are connected with high neonatal and infant mortality. According to statistical analysis of this study, women with intermediate or higher total, LDL, and triglyceride levels were more likely to deliver before 37 weeks of gestation than those with normal lipid profiles. Pregnancy dyslipidemia was also linked to BMI > 25 kg/m2 and advanced age. Recommendation: Based on these observations, we could recommend routine lipid profile assessment and management of dyslipidemia during pregnancy and in those planning to conceive, especially in relatively older women and those with obesity.

This study analysed ten widely used commercial fishfeeds in aquaculture from six countries spanning three continents to assess microplastic (MP) contamination. MPs with an average abundance of 1130 ± 259.07 particles/kg and an average length of 2.64 ± 0.62 mm ( ± SE) were found in aquaculture feeds, with fibres (85 %) and fragments (15 %). The majority of these MPs were black. The abundance of MPs varied among the samples, with the highest in feed SP (26 %), followed by IF, GA, ELS, NT, EW, TB, GR, VR, and the least in HCF (3 %). Polymers identified consisted of Polyethylene terephthalates (PET, 20 %), Polyamide (PA, 30 %), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), Polyurethane (PU), and Polystyrene (PS) with 15 % each, and Polypropylene (PP, 5 %). SEM-EDX analysis of fibres showed flakes, cracks, and pits and the presence of heavy metals Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, Au, Hg, Cd, Ti, and Pb. Additionally, some fragments contained Nb (Niobium) alongside the naturally occurring elements. The Polymer Hazard Index (PHI) for the polymers in ten feeds was calculated, and nine were in the highly hazardous category (IV and V) with PHI values ranging from 400-394825. The work showcases the graveness of MPs in fishfeeds and advocates control measures to curtail MPs in fishfeeds for sustainable aquaculture production., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

SARS-CoV-2 is one of the deadly outbreaks in the present era and still showing its presence around the globe. Researchers have produced various vaccines that offer protection against infection, but we have not yet found a cure for COVID-19. Currently, efforts are focused on identifying effective therapeutic approaches to treat this infectious disease. In the present work, we investigated the main protease (Mpro) protein, a crucial component in SARS-CoV-2 viral particle formation, as a drug target and proposed phytocompounds with therapeutic potential against SARS-CoV-2. Initially, several plant-based resources were exploited to screen around one thousand phytocompounds and further their physiochemical characterization and assessment of drug likeliness were performed using SwissADME. Eventually, we screened 95 compounds based on docking analysis using AutoDock Vina. Five compounds were selected having the highest affinity for Mpro for the analysis of ligand-receptor interaction using molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. Docking and MD simulation studies elucidated the promising stable interaction of selected 5 ligands with Mpro. During MD simulation of 100 ns, Abacopterin F showed the lowest binding energy (-37.13 kcal/mol) with the highest affinity towards Mpro and this compound may be proposed as a lead molecule for further investigation. This interaction may result in modulation of the Mpro activity, consequently leading to hindrance in viral particle formation. However, in-vitro and in-vivo experimental validation would be needed to process the selected phytomolecules as a therapeutic lead against SARS-CoV-2.

Acute leukemia is characterized by the swift proliferation of immature white blood cells (WBC) in the blood and bone marrow. It is categorized into acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), depending on whether the cell-line origin is lymphoid or myeloid, respectively. Deep learning (DL) and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing medical sciences by assisting clinicians with rapid illness identification, reducing workload, and enhancing diagnostic accuracy. This paper proposes a DL-based novel BSNEU-net framework to detect acute leukemia. It comprises 4 Union Blocks (UB) and incorporates block feature map distortion (BFMD) with switchable normalization (SN) in each UB. The UB employs union convolution to extract more discriminant features. The BFMD is adapted to acquire more generalized patterns to minimize overfitting, whereas SN layers are appended to improve the model's convergence and generalization capabilities. The uniform utilization of batch normalization across convolution layers is sensitive to the mini-batch dimension changes, which is effectively remedied by incorporating an SN layer. Here, a new dataset comprising 2400 blood smear images of ALL, AML, and healthy cases is proposed, as DL methodologies necessitate a sizeable and well-annotated dataset to combat overfitting issues. Further, a heterogeneous dataset comprising 2700 smear images is created by combining four publicly accessible benchmark datasets of ALL, AML, and healthy cases. The BSNEU-net model achieved excellent performance with 99.37% accuracy on the novel dataset and 99.44% accuracy on the heterogeneous dataset. The comparative analysis signifies the superiority of the proposed methodology with comparing schemes., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine.)

This study explores microplastic (MP) presence in the gastrointestinal tracts of deep-sea fish from the Central Indian Ocean, off the Indian coast. Among the 27 species examined, 19 showed MP contamination, averaging 2.68 ± 0.30 (±SE) MPs per individual. Polymer analysis via FTIR and micro-Raman identified several types, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polypropelene (PP), polyvinyl acetate (PVC), polyurethane (PU), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyaniline (PANI), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polyethersulfone (PES), with PET being the most prevalent (33.33 %). MP ingestion was higher in benthopelagic fish and those at higher trophic levels, as indicated by comparisons across oceanic zones. Niche partitioning analysis suggests feeding behaviour as a primary influencer of MP ingestion in deep-sea fish rather than habitat or trophic level. The study proposes the potential use of deep-sea fish as indicators for assessing microplastic pollution across oceanic zones and deep-sea regions through bycatch monitoring., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: A Biju Kumar reports was provided by Erasmus Plus. If there are other authors, they 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Cancer treatment modalities and their progression is guided by the specifics of cancer, including its type and site of localization. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are the most often used conventional treatments. Conversely, emerging treatment techniques include immunotherapy, hormone therapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, and stem cell therapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors' anticancer properties have drawn considerable attention in recent studies in the cancer research domain. Programmed Cell Death Protein-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) checkpoint pathway are key regulators of the interactions between activated T-cells and cancer cells, protecting the latter from immune destruction. When the ligand PD-L1 attaches to the receptor PD-1, T-cells are prevented from destroying cells that contain PD-L1, including cancer cells. The PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors block them, boosting the immune response and strengthening the body's defenses against tumors. Recent years have seen incredible progress and tremendous advancement in developing anticancer therapies using PD-1/PD-L1 targeting antibodies. While immune-related adverse effects and low response rates significantly limit these therapies, there is a need for research on methods that raise their efficacy and lower their toxicity. This review discusses various recent innovative nanomedicine strategies such as PLGA nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and drug loaded liposomes to treat cancer targeting PD-1/PD-L1 axis. The biological implications of PD-1/PD-L1 in cancer treatment and the fundamentals of nanotechnology, focusing on the novel strategies used in nanomedicine, are widely discussed along with the corresponding guidelines, clinical trial status, and the patent landscape of such formulations., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tuberculosis (TB) is a prehistoric infection and major etiologic agent of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis , which is considered to have advanced from an early progenitor species found in Eastern Africa. By the 1800s, there were approximately 800 to 1000 fatality case reports per 100,000 people in Europe and North America. This research suggests an In-silico study to identify potential inhibitory compounds for the target Mycobacterial copper transport protein (Mctb). ADME-based virtual screening, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to find promising compounds to modulate the function of the target protein. Four chemical compounds, namely Anti-MCT1, Anti-MCT2, Anti-MCT3 and Anti-MCT4 out of 1500 small molecules from the Diverse-lib of MTiOpenScreen were observed to completely satisfy Lipinski rule of five and Veber's rule. Further, significantly steady interactions with the MctB target protein were observed. Docking experiments have presented 9 compounds with less than -9.0 kcal/mol free binding energies and further MD simulation eventually gave 4 compounds having potential interactions and affinity with target protein and favorable binding energy ranging from -9.2 to -9.3 kcal/mol. We may propose these compounds as an effective candidate to reduce the growth of M. tuberculosis and may also assist present a novel therapeutic approach for Tuberculosis. In vivo and In vitro validation would be needed to proceed further in this direction.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Estuaries function as temporary storage sites for plastic debris, influencing the distribution of microplastics (MPs) across ecosystems. This research delves into the presence of MPs in the water, sediment, fish, and shellfish of Ashtamudi Lake, a Ramsar wetland with brackish water located on the southwest coast of India. Given the lake's significance in supporting the livelihoods of numerous fishers and acting as a vital source of fishery resources for both local consumption and export, examining the contamination of the system by MPs becomes particularly pertinent. The highest percentage composition of MPs was found in macrofauna at 60.6% (with fish at 19.6% and shellfish at 40.9%), followed by sediment (22.8%) and water (16.7%). The primary types of MPs identified in all samples were fibers (35.6%), fragments (33.3%), and films (28%), with beads being the least represented at 3.03%. ATR-FTIR and Raman spectra analysis identified five polymers from shellfish (polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, nylon, and polyvinyl chloride), five from fish guts (nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, and polysiloxane), four in sediment (polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, rayon), and four in water samples (polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, and polystyrene). SEM-EDAX analysis of MPs obtained from the samples revealed degradation and the presence of inorganic elements such as Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, K, Cl, P, and Ca, as well as heavy metals like Pb, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ti, and Fe. The existence of these plastic polymers and heavy metals in microplastic samples poses a threat to vulnerable biota; people consume contaminated fish and shellfish, underscoring the importance of monitoring MPs in lake water. This investigation of MPs in Ashtamudi Lake highlights the system's susceptibility to plastic pollution and the bioavailability of smaller MPs to aquatic organisms. Identified sources of MPs in the lake include fishing and aquaculture activities, sewage pollution, improper solid waste management in lake watersheds, and unsustainable tourism. Upstream and downstream management interventions are recommended to address MP pollution in Ashtamudi Lake., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: To pursue further education in a particular specialty of dentistry, it is important for dental students to be aware of the "expectation" associated with any specific specialty in dentistry. Therefore students 'attitudes' towards 'expectations' of various specialties, to a large extent enables a meaningful understanding that facilitates appropriate planning in the dental sector for the community., Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire based survey was conducted, which included, final year and dental interns studying in two dental institutions, in the State of Puducherry. It consisted of 27 questions that were graded using 5-point Likert scale. The responses for the attitude questions toward selecting Public Health Dentistry for post-graduation were categorized into three factors, negative attitude (includes score 0-21), neutral attitude (score 22-44), and positive attitude (score 45-64). Differences between groups were examined using t-test for proportions. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05., Results: Among 221 respondents, 73 (33.0) were males and 148 (67.0) females. About (52.2%) of the respondents had positive attitude toward selecting Public Health Dentistry as their future career and (76.7%) had neutral attitude, around (5 %) had negative attitude towards the speciality for pursuing post-graduation in both the two institutions., Conclusion: Our study could highlight many factors namely gender, year of study etc which influence the attitude of students for selecting PHD as career choice. These specific factors could be kept in mind while course planning for government or private institutions so that maximum interest can be fetched among students., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences.)

Scientists are rigorously looking for an efficient vaccine against the current pandemic due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The reverse vaccinology approach may provide us with significant therapeutic leads in this direction and further determination of T-cell/B-cell response to antigen. In the present study, we conducted a population coverage analysis referring to the diverse Indian population. From the Immune epitope database (IEDB), HLA- distribution analysis was performed to find the most promiscuous T-cell epitope out of In silico determined epitope of Spike protein from SARS-CoV-2. Epitopes were selected based on their binding affinity with the maximum number of HLA alleles belonging to the highest population coverage rate values for the chosen geographical area in India. 404 cleavage sites within the 1288 amino acids sequence of spike glycoprotein were determined by NetChop proteasomal cleavage prediction suggesting the presence of adequate sites in the protein sequence for cleaving into appropriate epitopes. For population coverage analysis, 179 selected epitopes present the projected population coverage up to 97.45% with 56.16 average hit and 15.07 pc90. 54 epitopes are found with the highest coverage among the Indian population and highly conserved within the given spike RBD domain sequence. Among all the predicted epitopes, 9-mer TRFASVYAW and RFDNPVLPF along with 12-mer LLAGTITSGWTF and VSQPFLMDLEGK epitopes are observed as the best due to their decent docking score and best binding affinity to corresponding HLA alleles during MD simulations. Outcomes from this study could be critical to design a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 for a different set of populations within the country.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) modulates the expression of genes involved in lipid and carbohydrate homeostasis and inflammatory processes. This nuclear receptor is likely a tumor suppressor in several cancers, but its molecular mechanism of suppression is still under study. Several studies reported that FXR agonism increases the survival of colorectal, biliary tract, and liver cancer patients. In addition, FXR expression was shown to be down-regulated in many diseases such as obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, glomerular inflammation, diabetes, proteinuria, and ulcerative colitis. Therefore, development of novel FXR agonists may have significant potential in the prevention and treatment of these diseases. In this scenario, computer-aided drug design procedures can be resourcefully applied for the rapid identification of promising drug candidates. In the present study, we applied the molecular docking method in conjunction with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to find out potential agonists for FXR based on structural similarity with the drug that is currently used as FXR agonist, obeticholic acid. Our results showed that alvimopan and montelukast could be used as potent FXR activators and outperform the binding affinity of obeticholic acid by forming stable conformation with the protein in silico. However, further investigational studies and validations of the selected drugs are essential to figure out their suitability for preclinical and clinical trials., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

The temperate oak tasar silkworm, Antheraea proylei, is frequently infested with Antheraea proylei nucleopolyhedrovirus (AnprNPV) causing tiger band disease. This disease is one of the key factors that obstructs production and productivity of oak tasar sericulture. The current study aimed to investigate the pathogenicity of AnprNPV, its mode of transmission, and detection of AnprNPV in different tissues. Transmission electron micrographs of AnprNPV showed single rod-shaped bodies and occlusion derived virus (ODV) enclosed within multiple envelopes. The infecting AnprNPV displayed tissue tropism with higher copy numbers detected in the insect fat body and ovary. The virus was observed to multiply in all developmental stages of the silkworm such as egg, larva, pupa, and moth, confirming its ability to spread throughout the silkworm lifecycle. Baculovirus isolated from infected A. proylei showed cross-infectivity in other Saturniidae wild silkworm species such as Antheraea pernyi, A. frithi, and Samia ricini, widening their probable host range for infection. Baculoviruses generally display a horizontal mode of transmission, mainly through ingestion of occlusion bodies (OBs); however, the present study revealed a trans-ovum vertical mode of transmission in addition to a horizontal mode. The observations made in this study aid a detailed understanding of the tiger band disease and its causative pathogen AnprNPV, which will support future studies and disease management in oak tasar sericulture., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.)

Black root rot (BRR) caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae is an alarming disease of mulberry that causes tremendous economic losses to sericulture farmers in India and China. Successful control of this disease can be attained by screening germplasm and identifying resistant sources. Seventy four diseased root samples were collected from farmer's fields belonging to four major mulberry growing states of South India. Based on morpho-cultural and scanning electron microscopy studies, 57 fungal isolates were characterized and identified as L. theobromae. Phylogenetic analysis of concatenated internal transcribed spacer and β-tubulin sequences revealed variation of the representative 20 isolates of L. theobromae. Following the root dip method of inoculation, pathogenicity studies on susceptible mulberry genotypes (Victory-1 and Thailand male) recognized the virulent isolate MRR-142. Accordingly, MRR-142 isolate was used to evaluate resistance on a set of 45 diverse mulberry accessions. In the repeated experiments, the mulberry accession ME-0168 which is an Indonesian origin belonging to Morus latifolia was found to be highly resistant consistently against BRR. Eight accessions (G2, ME-0006, ME-0011, ME-0093, MI-0006, MI-0291, MI-0489, and MI-0501) were found to be resistant. These promising resistant resources may be exploited in mulberry breeding for developing BRR resistant varieties and to develop mapping populations which successively helps in the identification of molecular markers associated with BRR.

Limited treatment options and research in understanding the pathomechanisms of rare diseases has raised concerns about their therapeutic development. One such poorly understood ultra-rare neuromuscular disorder is GNE Myopathy (GNEM) which is caused due to mutation in key sialic acid biosynthetic enzyme, GNE. Treatment with sialic acid or its derivatives/precursors slows the disease progression, but curative strategies need to be explored further. Pathologically, muscle biopsy samples of GNEM patients reveal rimmed vacuole formation due to aggregation of β-amyloid, Tau, presenilin proteins with unknown mechanism. The present study aims to understand the mechanism of protein aggregate formation in GNE mutant cells to decipher role of chaperones in disease phenotype. The pathologically relevant GNE mutations expressed as recombinant proteins in HEK cells was used as a model system for GNEM to estimate extent of protein aggregation. We identified HSP70, a chaperone, as binding partner of GNE. Downregulation of HSP70 with altered BAG3, JNK, BAX expression levels was observed in GNE mutant cells. The cell apoptosis was observed in GNE mutation specific manner. An activator of HSP70 chaperone, BGP-15, rescued the phenotypic defects due to GNE mutation, thereby, reducing protein aggregation significantly. The results were further validated in rat skeletal muscle cell lines carrying single Gne allele. Our study suggests that HSP70 activators can be a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of ultra-rare GNE Myopathy disease., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Gypsy "Narikuravars" constituted separate sociocultural groups having distinct cultures, customs, traditions, and lifestyles. Oral health-seeking behavior of this group remains to be an ignored part. This study aims to assess the oral hygiene practices and knowledge on periodontal diseases and therapy among Gypsy Narikuravars in Puducherry., Materials and Methods: The total study population consisted of 100 subjects, and a performed validated pro forma about oral hygiene practices and knowledge on periodontal diseases was used., Results: There is no significant association between sociodemographic factors and knowledge on periodontal disease and therapy. Majority (90%) of the participants have poor knowledge of periodontal disease and therapy. 56% of the participants used their fingers to clean the teeth, and very few subjects (13%) used toothbrush to clean their teeth, and most of the participants (92%) brushes once daily using manual method., Conclusion: The practice of poor oral hygiene and lack of knowledge on periodontal disease and therapy was observed. Hence, the implementation of oral health programs and provision of comprehensive health services for these Gypsy population should be a high priority., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences.)

Introduction: The purpose of the study is to determine reliability of true horizontal (TH) plane with Frankfort horizontal (FH) plane in cephalometric measurements., Materials and Methods: One hundred lateral cephalograms were collected and traced using FACAD software, all cephalometric measurements which included FH plane as reference planes were used in this study. Cephalometric tracing was done with FH plane as reference plane and another set of measurements with TH plane as reference plane was done. Statistical tests were done using independent sample t -test ( p <0.05)., Results: Results of an independent t -test revealed a statistically insignificant difference that was observed for all the parameters assessed ( p <0.05). Both angular and linear measurements showed an insignificant difference between FH and TH., Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, the results show that the FH plane is closest and as reliable as the TH plane. The variation of FH was least for all the parameters assessed.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most dominant form of dementia characterized by the deposition of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tau tangles (NFTs). In addition to these pathologies, an emerging pathophysiological mechanism that influences AD is neuroinflammation. Astrocytes are a vital type of glial cell that contribute to neuroinflammation, and reactive astrocytes, or astrogliosis, are a well-known pathological feature of AD. However, the mechanisms by which astrocytes contribute to the neurodegenerative process in AD have not been fully elucidated. Here, we showed that astrocytic α2-Na + /K + adenosine triphosphatase (α2-NKA) is elevated in postmortem human brain tissue from AD and progressive nuclear palsy, a primary tauopathy. The increased astrocytic α2-NKA was also recapitulated in a mouse model of tauopathy. Pharmacological inhibition of α2-NKA robustly suppressed neuroinflammation and reduced brain atrophy. In addition, α2-NKA knockdown in tauopathy mice halted the accumulation of tau pathology. We also demonstrated that α2-NKA promoted tauopathy, in part, by regulating the proinflammatory protein lipocalin-2 (Lcn2). Overexpression of Lcn2 in tauopathy mice increased tau pathology, and prolonged Lcn2 exposure to primary neurons promoted tau uptake in vitro. These studies collectively highlight the contribution of reactive astrocytes to tau pathogenesis in mice and define α2-NKA as a major regulator of astrocytic-dependent neuroinflammation.

Shigella dysenteriae type 1 is considered as an epidemic in different developing countries, which is responsible for the most severe form of bacterial dysentery. It habitually can develop to the most severe form of dysentery with deadly complications. Development of drugs against this disease is still ongoing. Therefore, we used in silico studies to screen the Inula britannica phytocompounds that are used in traditional Chinese and Kampo Medicines and have activities against different diseases. Spinacetin, eupatin, chrysoeriol and diosmetin were successfully passed through the docking-based screening and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) filtration. The estimated docking affinities of eupatin, diosmetin, chrysoeriol and spinacetin with Dihydrofolate reductase type 1 (DHFR-1), were -6.5, -6.5, -6.3 and -6.1 kcal/mol, respectively. Which were selected for further investigations based on their favorable ADME/Tox characteristics. Then, the 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of apo DHFR, spinacetin-DHFR, eupatin-DHFR, chrysoeriol-DHFR and diosmetin-DHFR complexes were carried out. The RMSD fluctuations of the spinacetin, eupatin, chrysoeriol and diosmetin inside the binding site were explored. Subsequently, the effect of binding Spinacetin, eupatin, chrysoeriol and diosmetin upon the dynamic stability of protein was assessed. Additionally, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hydrogen bond analysis was performed for the apo protein and the protein ligand complexes. The results revealed that chrysoeriol and eupatin has good inhibitory effects against DHFR-1 as treatment for Shigella dysenteriae type when compared to other compounds under study. Hence this study implies that eupatin and chrysoeriol are a significantly potential drug like molecule for the treatment of Shigellosis and must undergo validation through in vivo and in vitro experiments.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

UDP-N-Acetyl glucosamine-2 epimerase/N-acetyl mannosamine kinase (GNE) catalyzes key enzymatic reactions in the biosynthesis of sialic acid. Mutation in GNE gene causes GNE myopathy (GNEM) characterized by adult-onset muscle weakness and degeneration. However, recent studies propose alternate roles of GNE in other cellular processes beside sialic acid biosynthesis, particularly interaction of GNE with α-actinin 1 and 2. Lack of appropriate model system limits drug and treatment options for GNEM as GNE knockout was found to be embryonically lethal. In the present study, we have generated L6 rat skeletal muscle myoblast cell-based model system carrying one single Gne allele where GNE gene is knocked out at exon-3 using AAV mediated SEPT homology recombination (SKM-GNEHz). The cell line was heterozygous for GNE gene with one wild type and one truncated allele as confirmed by sequencing. The phenotype showed reduced GNE epimerase activity with little reduction in sialic acid content. In addition, the heterozygous GNE knockout cells revealed altered cytoskeletal organization with disrupted actin filament. Further, we observed increased levels of RhoA leading to reduced cofilin activity and causing reduced F-actin polymerization. The disturbed signaling cascade resulted in reduced migration of SKM-GNEHz cells. Our study indicates possible role of GNE in regulating actin dynamics and cell migration of skeletal muscle cell. The skeletal muscle cell-based system offers great potential in understanding pathomechanism and target identification for GNEM., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

In the present investigation, essential oil (EO) of Ocimum tenuiflorum and its principal constituent (eugenol) was evaluated for its toxicity and mode of action against Callosobruchus maculatus . Furthermore, fumigant toxicity and germination studies on the application of O. tenuiflorum EO and eugenol against C. maculatus on different pulses was also studied. Fumigant activity studies revealed that EO toxicity was significantly ( p  < 0.05) influenced by concentration and exposure time. In fumigant toxicity assay without food, O. tenuiflorum EO and eugenol showed LC 50 value of 278.6 and 256.5 µL/L air, respectively, at one hour exposure. Further, O. tenuiflorum EO displayed fumigant toxicity via inhibiting acetylcholinesterase activity. Pulses treated with O. tenuiflorum EO showed 70% of C. maculatus mortality at 250 µL/L air concentration after 24 h. Furthermore, these treatments didn't affect the seed viability of the pulses tested. Hence, the application of O. tenuiflorum EO has potential scope as a botanical insecticide., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020.)

Cell migration is an essential cellular process that requires coordination of cytoskeletal dynamics, reorganization, and signal transduction. The actin cytoskeleton is central in maintaining the cellular structure as well as regulating the mechanisms of cell motility. Glycosylation, particularly sialylation of cell surface proteins like integrins, regulates signal transduction from the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeletal network. The activation of integrin by extracellular cues leads to recruitment of different focal adhesion complex proteins (Src, FAK, paxillin, etc.) and activates the signal including Rho GTPases for the regulation of actin assembly and disassembly. During cell migration, the assembly and disassembly of actin filament provides the essential force for the cell to move. Abnormal sialylation can lead to actin signaling dysfunction leading to aberrant cell migration, one of the main characteristics of cancer and myopathies. In the present study, we have reported altered F-actin to G-actin ratios in GNE mutated cells. These cells exhibit pathologically relevant mutations of GNE (UDP N-acetylneuraminic 2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase), a key sialic acid biosynthetic enzyme. It was found that GNE neither affects the actin polymerization nor binds directly to actin. However, mutation in GNE resulted in increased binding of α-actinin to actin filaments. Further, through confocal imaging, GNE was found to be localized in focal adhesion complex along with paxillin. We further elucidated that mutation in GNE resulted in upregulation of RhoA protein and Cofilin activity is downregulated, which could be rescued with Rhosin and chlorogenic acid, respectively. Lastly, mutant in GNE reduced cell migration as implicated from wound healing assay. Our study indicates that molecules altering Cofilin function could significantly revert the cell migration defect due to GNE mutation in sialic acid-deficient cells. We propose cytoskeletal proteins to be alternate drug targets for disorders associated with GNE such as GNE myopathy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Devi, Yadav and Arya.)

Magnetocardiograms (MCG) provide clinically useful diagnostic information in a variety of cardiac dysfunctions. Low frequency baseline drifts and high frequency noise are inevitably present in routine MCG even for those measured inside magnetically shielded rooms. These interferences sometimes exceed subtle cardiac features in MCG recorded on subjects with implanted devices like cardiac pacemakers; this makes interpretation of cardiac magnetic fields difficult. The present study proposes a correlation-based beat-by-beat approach and principal component analysis to eliminate drifts and high frequency noise respectively; the approach is suitable for denoising both single and multi-channel MCG data. The methodology is critically evaluated on simulated noisy measurements using a 37 channel MCG system, when objects such as implantable permanent pacemaker and stainless-steel wire are sequentially kept externally on the chests of five healthy subjects. By characterizing the noise introduced by each of these objects, the deterioration in the quality of MCG and its subsequent restoration by using the proposed method is assessed. The performance of the proposed method is also compared with other conventional denoising techniques namely, bandpass filters, wavelets and ensemble empirical mode decomposition. The proposed method not only exhibits least distortion, but also preserves the beat-by-beat dynamics of cardiac time series. The method has also been illustrated on actual MCG measurements on two subjects with implanted pacemaker which highlight the ability of the proposed method for denoising MCG in general and during extremely noisy measurement situations., (© 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Introduction Human leukocyte antigen B27 (HLA-B27) is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Hence, HLA-B27 testing is routinely used in the diagnosis of AS. Objectives We aimed to establish the frequency of HLA-B27 in AS patients by flow cytometry and relate the differences between B27+ and B27- cases to the serum concentrations of rheumatoid arthritis factor (RA), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods  The study population included a total of 210 patients who visited the tertiary health care center. The peripheral blood samples obtained from AS patients were subjected to a qualitative two-color direct immunofluorescence method using the HLA-B27/CD3 antibody for the rapid detection of HLA-B27 antigen expression in erythrocyte-lysed whole blood in FACSCalibur flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, USA). Results Out of 210 AS patients, the distribution of HLA-B27 positivity was observed only in 46 (22%) patients. The remaining 164 patients (78.1%) were negative for HLA-B27. Of the 46 HLA positive patients, 39 (25.34%) were males and only seven (12.5%) were females. In both sexes, HLA-B27 frequency was significantly higher in the age group 21-30 years, followed by 41-50 years. The current study also revealed a significant association between sex and age of onset of HLA‑B27 detection in patients with suspected AS. Disease activity was not significantly correlated with RA, ESR, and CRP. Conclusions The detection of HLA-B27 by flow cytometry proved to be a reliable test in the screening of AS in the Indian population., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2021, N et al.)

This study reports on the ingestion of microplastics by the alien fish Pirapitinga, Piaractus brachypomus (Characiformes; Serrasalmidae) that escaped Vembanad lake, the largest brackish water lake in the south-west coast of India, from the aquaculture systems during flooding. Microplastics separated from the gut of 32 out of the 123 fishes (26%) examined were identified using Attenuated Total Reflectance - Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR), and Raman Spectroscopy. In total, 69 microplastic particles, represented by fibers, foam and fragments were recovered from the fish, with sizes ranging from 0.89 to 4.85 mm. The ATR-FTIR spectral analyses revealed the presence of polymers polyethylene and Nylon 6. The occurrence of PP, Nylon 6, PET and PBT were confirmed using Raman spectroscopy. The presence of MPs in the gut content of alien fish P. brachypomus could be a reflection of the increasing microplastics pollution in the estuaries and backwaters along the south-west coast of India., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Panel dataset in this article contains information on the ethical commitment disclosures of Malaysian publicly listed companies. The data presented is related to the research article entitled "Ethical Practice Disclosure of Malaysian Public Listed Companies" [1]. In examining the level of ethical commitment disclosures, content analysis is performed involving 1,115 annual reports for five year periods (2012 - 2016). The annual reports are gathered from Main Market of Bursa Malaysia website. Information on ethical commitment disclosures are extracted from the annual reports. The data are collected using Ethical Commitment Index (ECI) comprising six themes; corporate ethics values, action to promote ethics, whistle-blowing policy, code of ethics, sustainability practices, and ethics committee. This dataset is useful as an indicator of the companies' ethical commitment reflecting ethical climate in Malaysian public listed companies., (© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.)

In the present study, the antimicrobial and the insect repellent activity of 16 botanical extracts obtained by supercritical CO 2 (SCF) extraction were evaluated. The present investigation was conducted as there is a necessity for exploration of natural botanical extracts that target both stored product insects and microbes. The antimicrobial activity was studied by disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods against ten microbial species, including Gram-positive bacteria ( Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Listeria monocytogenes ), Gram-negative bacteria ( Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica ), and fungi ( Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus paraciticus, Aspergillus ochraceous, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium verrucosum ). Repellency assay was carried out by area preference method against three coleopteran insects ( Tribolium castaneum , Rhyzopertha dominica and Sitophilus oryzae ). Among all the extracts, thyme and ajwain were effective against all the tested bacteria with a minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of 256-1024 µg/mL. Hop extract resulted in better antibacterial activity against all the tested Gram-positive bacteria with a MIC of 32-64 µg/mL. Oregano, thyme and ajwain extracts showed broad-spectrum antifungal activity against all the tested fungi with MIC of 128-1024 µg/mL. Most of the extracts exhibited class V (80.1-100%) repellency against T. castaneum . Extracts of hop, ajwain and thyme were found to have strong repellency against T. castaneum and R. dominica. Therefore, SCF extracts of ajwain and thyme can be explored further for the application of bio-extracts as a growth limiting factors in a microcosm where such consortia thrive., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2019.)

The association of genetic polymorphisms with periodontitis has been studied extensively. The interleukin-7 (IL-17) is a group of cytokines, which comprises six different molecules (IL-17A, B, C, D, E, and F). Among this, IL-17A is the most commonly understood cytokine, and its polymorphism plays a critical role in inflammatory diseases and periodontal inflammation. The present study was aimed at pooling the data available for meta-analysis and to evaluate whether IL-17A (rs2275913) polymorphism is associated with the susceptibility of chronic periodontitis., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Contemporary Clinical Dentistry.)

The crab fauna (Crustacea: Brachyura) of Lakshadweep (Laccadives), a group of Indian islands in the western Indian Ocean is updated, using material from the intertidal and shallow subtidal areas collected between 2012 and 2015. Fifty-three species were recorded during this study, of which 17 species are newly recorded from the islands, and three are also new records for India. A total of 169 species of brachyuran crabs are now known from Lakshadweep. The taxonomy of Elamena gracilis Borradaile, 1903 (Hymenosomatidae) is clarified and stabilized by the designation of a lectotype.

A report on the brachyuran crabs collected from the southwestern coast of India by the Indian research vessel FORV Sagar Sampada is presented. The material consists of 13 species from three genera and five families, of which four are new records for India: Heteroplaxmaldivensis (Rathbun, 1902) (Euryplacidae), Cryptopodiacollifer Flipse, 1930 (Parthenopidae), Thalamitamacrodonta Borradaile, 1903 (Portunidae), and Paraxanthodescumatodes (MacGilchrist, 1905) (Xanthidae). The cruise also obtained the first known male of Nectopanoperhodobaphes Wood-Mason in Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1891 (type species of Nectopanope Wood-Mason in Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1891), and its characters show that it is in fact a member of the Euryplacidae Stimpson, 1871. The genus had previously been incorrectly classified in the Xanthidae MacLeay, 1838.

Lipid peroxidation is a physiological indicator of both biotic and abiotic stress responses, hence is often used as a biomarker to assess stress-induced cell damage or death. Here we demonstrate an easy, quick and cheap staining method to assess lipid peroxidation in plant tissues. In this methodology, Schiff's reagent, is used to assay for membrane degradation. Histochemical detection of lipid peroxidation is performed in this protocol. In brief, Schiff's reagent detects aldehydes that originate from lipid peroxides in stressful condition. Schiff's reagent is prepared and applied to plants tissue. After the reaction, plant tissue samples are rinsed with a sulfite solution to retain the staining color. From this analysis, qualitative visualization of lipid peroxidation in plant tissue is observed in the form of magenta coloration. This reagent is useful for visualization of stress induced lipid peroxidation in plants. In this protocol, Indica rice root, Assam tea root and Indian mustard seedlings are used for demonstration., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors; exclusive licensee Bio-protocol LLC.)

Exposure to pre-concentrated inlet or outlet STP wastewater extracts at different concentrations (0.001% to 1%) induced dose-dependent toxicity in MCF-7 cells, whereas drinking water extracts did not induce cytotoxicity in cells treated. GC-MS analysis revealed the occurrence of xenobiotic compounds (Benzene, Phthalate, etc.) in inlet/outlet wastewater extracts. Cells exposed to inlet/outlet extract showed elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS: inlet: 186.58%, p<0.05, outlet, 147.8%, p<0.01) and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm: inlet, 74.91%, p<0.01; outlet, 86.70%, p<0.05) compared to the control. These concentrations induced DNA damage (Tail length: inlet: 34.4%, p<0.05, outlet, 26.7%, p<0.05) in treated cells compared to the control (Tail length: 7.5%). Cell cycle analysis displayed drastic reduction in the G1 phase in treated cells (inlet, G1:45.0%; outlet, G1:58.3%) compared to the control (G1:67.3%). Treated cells showed 45.18% and 28.0% apoptosis compared to the control (1.2%). Drinking water extracts did not show any significant alterations with respect to ROS, Δψm, DNA damage, cell cycle and apoptosis compared to the control. Genes involved in cell cycle and apoptosis were found to be differentially expressed in cells exposed to inlet/outlet extracts. Herein, we propose cell-based toxicity assays to evaluate the efficacies of wastewater treatment and recycling processes., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Chronic exposure to atrazine and other pesticides is reported to cause metabolic disorders, yet information on effects of atrazine on expression of genes relevant to mitochondrial function is largely missing. In the present study, therefore, we investigated the expression of a battery of nuclear- and mitochondrial-encoded genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in human liver (HepG2) and rat muscle (L6) cell lines due to short-term atrazine exposure., Materials and Methods: We have determined the EC50 values of atrazine for cytotoxicity and mitochondrial toxicity (mitotoxicity) in terms of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content in HepG2 and L6 cells. Further, the mRNA expression of nuclear- and mitochondrial-encoded genes was analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction., Results: The EC50 value of atrazine for mitotoxicity in HepG2 and L6 cells was found to be about 0.162 and 0.089 mM, respectively. Mitochondrial toxicity was indicated by reduction in ATP content following atrazine exposure. Atrazine exposure resulted in down-regulation of many OXPHOS subunits expression and affected biogenesis factors' expression. Most prominently, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) expressions were up-regulated in HepG2 cells, whereas SIRT3 expression was alleviated in L6 cells, without significant changes in SOD levels. Mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) and SIRT1 expression were significantly down-regulated in both cell lines., Conclusion: Results suggest that TFAM and SIRT1 could be involved in atrazine-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, and further studies can be taken up to understand the mechanism of mitochondrial toxicity. Further study can also be taken up to explore the possibility of target genes as biomarkers of pesticide toxicity.

In this study, the concentrations of MgSO4, salinity and light intensity were optimised for maximum biomass productivity and lipid content in Chlorella sp. Lipid synthesized at varied experimental conditions was also assessed in detail for biodiesel properties through FAME analysis. FAMEs mainly composed of C16:0, C16:1(9), C16:3(7, 10, 13), C18:0, C18:1(11), C18:2(9, 12), C18:3(9, 12, 15). The optimum biomass productivity (372.50mgL(-1)d(-1)) and lipid content (32.57%) was obtained at MgSO4-150ppm; salinity-12.5ppm, and light intensity-25μmolm(-2)s(-1). However, at this condition the cetane number, a major biodiesel property was not complying with worldwide biodiesel standard. Therefore, further optimisations were done to check the suitability of biodiesel fuel. The optimum biomass productivity (348.47mgL(-1)d(-1)) and lipid content (12.43%) with suitable biodiesel fuel properties was obtained at MgSO4-50ppm, salinity-25ppm and light intensity-100μmolm(-2)s(-1). The validation experiments confirmed the closeness of predicted and measured response values., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Forest ecosystem harbour a large number of biotic components where cellulolytic microorganisms participate actively in the biotransformation of dead and decaying organic matter and soil nutrient cycling. This study explores the aerobic culturable cellulolytic microorganisms in the forest soils of North East India. Soil samples rich in dead and decaying organic matter were collected from eight conserved forests during the season when microbes were found to be most active. Cellulolytic microorganisms were isolated using selective media in which cellulose was the sole carbon source. Population of culturable, aerobic, cellulolytic microorganisms were found to be higher at the incubation temperature that corresponds to the natural ambient temperature of the site of sample collection. Bacterial population was higher in all of the sites than fungal population. Bacterial population ranged from 1.91 × 10(5) to 3.35 × 10(6) CFU g(-1) dry soil while actinomycetes and fungal population ranged from 9.13 × 10(2) to 3.46 × 10(4) CFU g(-1) dry soil and 9.36 × 10(2) to 4.31 × 10(4) CFU g(-1) dry soil, respectively. It was observed that though many isolates showed activity on the CMC plate assay, very few isolates showed significant filter paper activity. Three cellulolytic fungal isolates showing high FPase activity were characterised, identified and submitted to GenBank as Talaromyces verruculosus SGMNPf3 (KC937053), Trichoderma gamsii SGSPf7 (KC937055) and Trichoderma atroviride SGBMf4 (KC937054).

A study was made on the physico-chemical properties of water and phyto and zooplankton communities of Baskandi anua, an oxbow lake of South Assam during March to August, 2009. Analyses of water showed acidic to slightly alkaline pH (5.4-7.9) with dissolved oxygen ranging from 4.26 to 11.83 mgl(-1) and total alkalinity from 31.25 to 65 mg l(-1), indicating the productive nature of water. Free CO2 fluctuated from 2.93 to 15.04 mgl(-1). PO4 and NO3 concentration ranged from 0.15 to 1.4 mg l(-1) and 0.06 mg l(-1) to 4.94 mg l(-1), respectively. Conductivity, pH and free CO2 were found higher at the sites surrounded by paddy fields. Mean values of physico-chemical parameters significantly varied between the sites and were found to be influenced by one or more of the following factors viz. rainfall, depth and influx from adjacent paddy field. A total of 30 phytoplankton taxa and 12 zooplankton taxa with qualitative dominance of Chlorophyceae were recorded. The study revealed that water quality of the lake was good for aquaculture. Hence, the lake should be protected and best management practices should be implemented for sustainable production.

In the present study, we attempt to shed light on the underlying molecular mechanism of the anticancer activity of pterostilbene (PTS) in HepG2 cells through the proteomic approach. PTS was found to induce apoptosis by altering the expression of apoptotic genes and the G2/M phase of cell cycle arrest. Further, the 2-DE map showed the expression of 72 differentially regulated proteins in PTS-treated HepG2 cells, of which 8 spots with >2 fold up- or down-regulated level were identified by MALDI-TOF analysis, which has a regulatory role in apoptosis. These findings for the first time offer valuable insights into the mechanism of apoptotis by PTS in HepG2 cells.

Anthropogenic activities have substantially increased the level of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere and are contributing significantly to the global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is one of the major GHGs which plays a key role in the climate change. Various approaches and methodologies are under investigation to address CO2 capture and sequestration worldwide. Carbonic anhydrase (CA) mediated CO2 sequestration is one of the promising options. Therefore, the present review elaborates recent developments in CA, its immobilization and bioreactor methodologies towards CO2 sequestration using the CA enzyme. The promises and challenges associated with the efficient utilization of CA for CO2 sequestration and scale up from flask to lab-scale bioreactor are critically discussed. Finally, the current review also recommends the possible future needs and directions to utilize CA for CO2 sequestration., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Aegle marmelos (Indian Bael) is a tree which belongs to the family of Rutaceae. It holds a prominent position in both Indian medicine and Indian culture. We have screened various fractions of Aegle marmelos extracts for their anticancer properties using in vitro cell models. Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to analyze the biomolecules present in the Aegle marmelos extract. Jurkat and human neuroblastoma (IMR-32) cells were treated with different concentrations of the fractionated Aegle marmelos extracts. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that optimal concentration (50 µg/ml) of beta caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide fractions of Aegle marmelos extract can induce apoptosis in Jurkat cell line. cDNA expression profiling of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes was carried out using real time PCR (RT-PCR). Down-regulation of anti-apoptotic genes (bcl-2, mdm2, cox2 and cmyb) and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic genes (bax, bak1, caspase-8, caspase-9 and ATM) in Jurkat and IMR-32 cells treated with the beta caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide fractions of Aegle marmelos extract revealed the insights of the downstream apoptotic mechanism. Furthermore, in-silico approach was employed to understand the upstream target involved in the induction of apoptosis by the beta caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide fractions of Aegle marmelos extract. Herein, we report that beta caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide isolated from Aegle marmelos can act as potent anti-inflammatory agents and modulators of a newly established therapeutic target, 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX). Beta caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide can induce apoptosis in lymphoma and neuroblastoma cells via modulation of 15-LOX (up-stream target) followed by the down-regulation of anti-apoptotic and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic genes.

Protein coding and promoter region predictions are very important challenges of bioinformatics (Attwood and Teresa, 2000). The identification of these regions plays a crucial role in understanding the genes. Many novel computational and mathematical methods are introduced as well as existing methods that are getting refined for predicting both of the regions separately; still there is a scope for improvement. We propose a classifier that is built with MACA (multiple attractor cellular automata) and MCC (modified clonal classifier) to predict both regions with a single classifier. The proposed classifier is trained and tested with Fickett and Tung (1992) datasets for protein coding region prediction for DNA sequences of lengths 54, 108, and 162. This classifier is trained and tested with MMCRI datasets for protein coding region prediction for DNA sequences of lengths 252 and 354. The proposed classifier is trained and tested with promoter sequences from DBTSS (Yamashita et al., 2006) dataset and nonpromoters from EID (Saxonov et al., 2000) and UTRdb (Pesole et al., 2002) datasets. The proposed model can predict both regions with an average accuracy of 90.5% for promoter and 89.6% for protein coding region predictions. The specificity and sensitivity values of promoter and protein coding region predictions are 0.89 and 0.92, respectively.

The present study evaluates the feasibility of using Artemia franciscana in reducing the Ni concentration of synthetic wastewater by the process of bioaccumulation. Metallothionein protein plays a key role in the uptake of nickel by Artemia. Artemia (Brine shrimp) was exposed to an initial nickel concentration of 40 mg/L. Gradual decrease of nickel was observed from 40 mg/L to 5 mg/L with a removal efficiency of 87.5%. The number of organisms were varied to determine the number for the maximum removal efficiency. Metallothionein protein in Artemia was estimated by the silver saturation method. The physical parameters such as pH were maintained in an alkaline condition of 9-10, temperature was maintained at room temperature and salinity at 30-35‰. These were found to be the optimal conditions for the survival and reduction of nickel by Artemia.

The effects of various stresses on the suitability of lipid synthesized by Chlorella pyrenoidosa for biodiesel production were investigated. Lipids were characterized for detailed fatty acid methyl ester profiling and biodiesel properties like cetane number (CN), iodine value, cold filter plugging point (CFPP). Maximum biomass productivity (106.63 mgL(-1)d(-1)) and lipid content (29.68%) were obtained at indoor cultivation (nitrate sufficient, pH 8-10, 24h illumination). However, compared to this condition, other nitrate sufficient cultures [pH 6-8 and 10-12 (24h illumination), and at ambient CO2 and 16:8h light:dark photoperiod (pH unadjusted)] showed ∼12-14% lower lipid productivity. Upon 50% nitrate depletion (at indoor and outdoor; pH unadjusted) lipid content has increased by 7.62% and 17%, respectively. Though stress conditions helped enhancing lipid accumulation, there was two-fold increase in PUFA content compared to that observed at pH 8-10. This resulted in fuel properties which did not comply with the biodiesel standards., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)