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The co-evolution of microorganisms with multi cellular mega-organisms and the influence of the microbiome on the health of larger partners is a trending area in current research. The ratio of bacterial cells to human cells is an ongoing study in the field of human health. From 10 : 1, bacteria to human cell ratio, to 1 : 1 is the current information. However, after carefully perusing the emerging data of human and bacterial cells, we propose an out-of-box hypothesis of the golden ratio, 1.618, to be in the evolutionary cellular arrangements between the bacteria and human cells. If proved, it could pave way for better preparedness in managing human health using the microbiome, with the possibility of its spillover into plant health management too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viruses target mitochondria to promote their replication, and infection-induced stress during the progression of infection leads to the regulation of antiviral defenses and mitochondrial metabolism which are opposed by counteracting viral factors. The precise structural and functional changes that underlie how mitochondria react to the infection remain largely unclear. Here we show extensive transcriptional remodeling of protein-encoding host genes involved in the respiratory chain, apoptosis, and structural organization of mitochondria as herpes simplex virus type 1 lytic infection proceeds from early to late stages of infection. High-resolution microscopy and interaction analyses unveiled infection-induced emergence of rough, thin, and elongated mitochondria relocalized to the perinuclear area, a significant increase in the number and clustering of endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites, and thickening and shortening of mitochondrial cristae. Finally, metabolic analyses demonstrated that reactivation of ATP production is accompanied by increased mitochondrial Ca2+ content and proton leakage as the infection proceeds. Overall, the significant structural and functional changes in the mitochondria triggered by the viral invasion are tightly connected to the progression of the virus infection. Author summary: Herpesviruses not only cause significant diseases but are also promising candidates for oncolytic therapy. The HSV-1 infection depends on the nuclear DNA replication, transcription machinery, and mitochondrial metabolism of the host cell. Late in lytic infection, HSV-1 induces major structural changes in nuclear structures, including host chromatin, and mitochondria. This study investigated time-dependent mitochondrial changes as HSV-1 infection proceeds from early to late infection. We show that infection leads to significant transcriptional modification of genes encoding proteins involved in the mitochondrial network, such as the respiratory chain, apoptosis, and the structural organization of mitochondria. Our findings indicate that infection leads to significant alterations in mitochondrial structure and function, including changes in mitochondrial morphology and distribution, thickening and shortening of cristae, an increase in the number and area of contact sites between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum, as well as a rise in mitochondrial calcium ion content and proton leak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects possess freely flowing cells in their circulation known as hemocytes. Chironomus, a non-biting midge is an insect of the Chironomidae family. We have characterized hemocytes from C. ramosus, which is a first report of its kind for any tropical Chironomid species. We have also developed protocol for extraction and characterization of hemocytes by both high-resolution light and electron microscopy devoid of contamination with a better yield. Five types of hemocytes namely plasmatocyte, oenocyte, spherulocyte, granulocytes and prohemocytes were found in fourth instar larvae of C. ramosus. When compared with temperate non-biting midges, similar type of hemocytes, except prohemocytes could be noticed. The present study will improve future investigations on larval hemocytes based on cellular morphology using light and electron microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soils of Lakshadweep Islands are formed as a result of the fragmentation of coral limestone, that is carbonate-rich, with neutral pH, but poor in plant nutrients. Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is the main crop cultivated, supporting the life and livelihood of the islanders. No external fertilizer application or major plant protection measures are adopted for their cultivation as the Islands were declared to go organic decades back. Yet, Lakshadweep has one of the highest productivity of coconut compared with other coconut growing areas in India. Therefore, a question arises: how is such a high coconut productivity sustained? We try to answer by estimating in three main islands (i) the nutrients added to the soil via the litter generated by coconut palms and (ii) the role of soil microbiota, including arbuscular mycorrhizae, for the high productivity. Our results indicated that, besides adding a substantial quantum of organic carbon, twice the needed amount of nitrogen, extra 20% phosphorus to the already P-rich soils, 43–45% of potassium required by palms could be easily met by the total coconut biomass residues returned to the soil. Principal Component Analysis showed that soil organic carbon %, potassium, and organic carbon added via the palm litter and AM spore load scored >± 0.95 in PC1, whereas, available K in the soil, bacteria, actinomycetes, phosphate solubilizers and fluorescent pseudomonads scored above >± 0.95 in PC2. Based on our analysis, we suggest that the autochthonous nutrients added via the coconut biomass residues, recycled by the soil microbial communities, could be one of the main reasons for sustaining a high productivity of the coconut palms in Lakshadweep Islands, in the absence of any external fertilizer application, mimicking a semi-closed-loop forest ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maintenance of a clean environment in a hospital is challenging and at the same time crucial for patient safety. The importance of the hospital environment in patient care has received worldwide attention, especially in infection prevention and control. The Ministry of Health and Family welfare launched "Kayakalp Yojna," an initiative to promote cleanliness and enhance the quality of public health facilities. Objective: This study was undertaken to assess the impact of the implementation of the Kayakalp initiative in public health-care facilities of Himachal Pradesh. Material and Methods: This analytical study was conducted to assess the impact of Kayakalp Yojna in six thematic areas; hospital/facility upkeep, sanitation and hygiene, waste management, infection control (IC), supportive services, and hygiene promotion in government hospitals using the Kayakalp assessment tool in the state of Himachal Pradesh in 2017-2018. Results: Post implementation of Kayakalp Yojna, there was an average improvement of 20% in the total scores of the hospitals from internal assessment to external assessment. Four of the 12 district hospitals, three of the 89 community health centers, and 26 of the 475 public health centers scored more than 70% in the external assessment. Conclusion: The Kayakalp assessment results give an insight to the problem areas and present a possibility to improve the public health facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sertoli cells (Sc) are the sole target of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in the testis and attain functional maturation post-birth to significantly augment germ cell (Gc) division and differentiation at puberty. Despite having an operational microRNA (miRNA) machinery, limited information is available on miRNA-mediated regulation of Sc maturation and male fertility. We have shown before that miR-92a-3p levels decline in pubertal rat Sc. In response to FSH treatment, the expressions of FSH Receptor, Claudin11 and Klf4 were found to be elevated in pubertal rat Sc coinciding with our finding of FSH-induced decline in miR-92a-3p levels. To investigate the association of miR-92a-3p and spermatogenesis, we generated transgenic mice where such pubertal decline of miR-92a-3p was prevented by its overexpression in pubertal Sc under proximal Rhox5 promoter, which is known to be activated specifically at puberty, in Sc. Our in vivo observations provided substantial evidence that FSH-induced decline in miR-92a-3p expression during Sc maturation acts as an essential prerequisite for the pubertal onset of spermatogenesis. Elevated expression of miR-92a-3p in post-pubertal testes results into functionally compromised Sc, leading to impairment of the blood–testis barrier formation and apoptosis of pre-meiotic Gc, ultimately culminating into infertility. Collectively, our data suggest that regulation of miR-92a-3p expression is crucial for Sc-mediated induction of active spermatogenesis at puberty and regulation of male fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The cases of Coronary Artery Diseases (CAD) are on the rise in India, this can be attributed to various factors such as ageing, lifestyle, smoking, food habits, and higher income levels. Although, a large proportion of India's population has access to some form of health insurance, the out of pocket expenditure is still extremely high as a percentage of total health spendings. Aim: To assess the impact of coronary stent price regulation on the interventional cardiology field in India. Materials and Methods: Retrospective data for this study was collected from online search at google and various other external data sources such as websites and published reports of World Health Organisation (WHO), Niti Aayog, National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) and Economic Times (ET) Health World. Line graphs for the percentage change in the number of percutaneous coronary intervention procedures, usage of Drug Eluting Stents (DES) pricing for government and private hospitals for the period 2016-2021 were plotted using Microsoft excel. Results: A high cost of coronary stents ranging from Indian Rupee (INR) 40,000 to INR 1,25,000 was a major contributor to a very high out of pocket expenditure in the field of interventional cardiology. In order to curtail this cost, a ceiling limit of INR 29,600 was imposed with respect to the prices of coronary stents in the year 2017 by the NPPA. Ever since a ceiling limit was imposed on the prices of coronary stents in India, there has been an annual increase of 3.7%, 13.1%, 12.6%, and 12.9% in the number of coronary intervention procedures for the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, respectively. Similarly, the usage of DES has also shown an annual increase of 8.9%, 14.7%, 10.5%, and 13.3%, respectively for the same years. Conclusion: At this juncture when the burden of CAD is on a rise in India, the efforts to make coronary stents more affordable will go a long way in the efficient management of CAD in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 exhibit dissimilar tolerance to Cr(VI) with a tenfold difference in their EC50 value for Cr(VI). This contrasting tolerance was attributed to the difference in the ability to transport Cr(VI) and to detoxify ROS. The present study used biochemical assays and chlorophyll fluorescence to investigate the effect of growth with Cr(VI) on photosynthesis in the two cyanobacteria. In absence of Cr(VI), all the measured parameters viz., rates of CO2 fixation, PSII and PSI activities were higher in Synechocystis in comparison to Synechococcus, suggesting intrinsic differences in their photosynthesis. Growth in the presence of Cr(VI) reduced the pigment content and photosystems' activities in both cyanobacteria. It was further observed that photosynthetic functions were more adversely affected in Synechocystis in comparison to Synechococcus, in spite of exposure to tenfold lower Cr(VI) concentration. The effective quantum yield of PSII and PSI obtained by chlorophyll fluorescence measurements increased in the presence of Cr(VI) in Synechococcus whereas it decreased in Synechocystis. However, the overall CO2 fixation remained unchanged. These results indicated that, in addition to the intrinsic difference in photosynthetic rates, the two cyanobacteria exhibit differential modulation of photosynthetic machinery upon Cr(VI) exposure and Synechococcus could adapt better it's photosystems to counter the oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 exhibit dissimilar tolerance to Cr(VI) with a tenfold difference in their EC50 value for Cr(VI). This contrasting tolerance was attributed to the difference in the ability to transport Cr(VI) and to detoxify ROS. The present study used biochemical assays and chlorophyll fluorescence to investigate the effect of growth with Cr(VI) on photosynthesis in the two cyanobacteria. In absence of Cr(VI), all the measured parameters viz., rates of CO2 fixation, PSII and PSI activities were higher in Synechocystis in comparison to Synechococcus, suggesting intrinsic differences in their photosynthesis. Growth in the presence of Cr(VI) reduced the pigment content and photosystems' activities in both cyanobacteria. It was further observed that photosynthetic functions were more adversely affected in Synechocystis in comparison to Synechococcus, in spite of exposure to tenfold lower Cr(VI) concentration. The effective quantum yield of PSII and PSI obtained by chlorophyll fluorescence measurements increased in the presence of Cr(VI) in Synechococcus whereas it decreased in Synechocystis. However, the overall CO2 fixation remained unchanged. These results indicated that, in addition to the intrinsic difference in photosynthetic rates, the two cyanobacteria exhibit differential modulation of photosynthetic machinery upon Cr(VI) exposure and Synechococcus could adapt better it's photosystems to counter the oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrusion detection systems are one of the necessities of networks to identify the problem of network attacks. Organizations striving to protect their data from intruders are often challenged by attackers, who find new ways to attack and compromise the security of the network. The detection process becomes quite difficult while dealing with high-speed and distributed attacks that are performed using botnets. These attacks threat both the confidentiality of legitimate users and the infrastructure of the network and to protect them, early discovery of network attacks is important. In this paper, an open source Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Snort is presented as a solution to detect DoS and Port Scan network attacks in a high-speed network. A set of custom rules has been proposed for Snort to detect DoS and Port Scan attacks in high-speed network. The rules are compared and tested using different attack generators like Scapy, Hping3, LOIC and Nmap. Snort's efficiency in detecting the DoS and Port Scan attacks using the new rules is experimentally proved to be around 99% for all the attacks except for Ping of Death. The proposed system works well for different attack generators in a high-speed network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infertility causes change according to local demographics. There is thus the need to find the causes of infertility in context to local population to aid and direct management strategies accordingly. Aims: The aims were to study the causes of infertility and to calculate the proportion of the individual factors contributing to it in the population coming to a tertiary level public health facility. Setting and Design: This cross-sectional, observational study was done in an infertility clinic in a medical college and government hospital. Materials and Methods: The study comprised 120 couples who came for infertility evaluation and treatment. Cause of infertility in the couple was assigned on the basis of history and examination findings. The prevalence of each cause was evaluated. Statistical Analysis: Results were tabulated, and the prevalence of individual factors was calculated. Intratable analysis was done using SPSS 16.0. Results: Primary infertility (57.5%) was more prevalent than secondary infertility (42.5%). Female factor accounted for 46.6% of the cases with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) being the leading cause (46%). Infertility was seen equally in lean and obese PCOS cases. Infectious causes such as pelvic inflammatory disease and tuberculosis were significantly associated with tubal factor infertility (P = 0.001). Infertility causes changed as the age of marriage increased. In couples married for less than 5 years, PCOS was the main cause whereas later, male factor and unexplained infertility were the most common causes seen. Male factor contributed to 20% of the cases of infertility, and both tobacco and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with abnormal semen reports (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Causes of infertility vary according to the age of the couples and age of marriage. Although PCOS remains the main cause, infections are a major cause of tubal factor infertility, and tobacco and alcohol worsen the male factor. One-third of the cases still remain unexplained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process to recycle lignin-rich coconut leaves, produced in abundance from coconut gardens, to vermicompost, using a local isolate of Eudrilus sp. is an important value-addition technology from ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute helping coconut farmers and entrepreneurs to enhance their economic returns. Vermicompost is produced in cement tanks and at the end of the composting period, earthworms are hand-sorted from the mature and partially composted materials by employed workers. The scarcity of labour for earthworm sorting and non-availability of earthworms at the required time for further vermicomposting had become an impediment in sustained production of vermicompost leading to abandonment of the technology by many adopters. To overcome this situation, a simple push-pull/pull-pull strategy was developed for harvesting the earthworms, wherein freshly ground mustard solution was used as repellant (push agent) and cow dung (with or without bagasse/banana wastes) was used as an attractant ('pull' agent). The strategy is simple, efficient and saves on labour, eliminates drudgery, reduces production cost and time. It will pave way for sustained adoption of vermicomposting technology by coconut farmers and entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Unlike in rod-shaped bacteria, cell polarity is not well defined in cocci and possibly gets marked during molecular events around cytokinesis. DivIVA is a member of Min system that is involved in spatial regulation of septum formation in bacteria. Recently, we showed that DivIVA of Deinococcus radiodurans (drDivIVA) interacts with proteins involved in cell division and genome segregation (segrosome). To map drDivIVA domain (s) that interact with these proteins, the N-terminal (DivIVA-N), C-terminal (DivIVA-C) and a middle (DivIVA-M) region/section of drDivIVA were generated. Circular Dichroism (CD) studies suggested that all three variants of drDivIVA fold properly, but they appeared different under transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Full length drDivIVA showed bundles under TEM whereas variants did not. Both full length drDivIVA and N-terminal domain showed repeats of heptad motifs, a characteristic of alpha-helical coiled-coil proteins. DivIVA-N showed dimerization and interaction with segrosome while DivIVA-M interacted with MinC, a cell division regulatory protein. Further, the C-terminal region seems to be crucial for the structural and functional integrity of drDivIVA. These results suggested that drDivIVA dimerizes through its N-terminal domain while both segrosome and MinC interact through different regions of this protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The taxon-specific primers were designed and evaluated in vitro and in silico for the phage identification. • The DNA markers identified in the present work can be useful for the taxon establishment of newly isolated phages. Abstract The phage taxonomy is primarily based on the morphology derived from Transmission Electron Microscopic (TEM) studies. TEM based characterization is authentic and accepted by scientific community. However, TEM based identification is expensive and time consuming. After the phage isolation, before analysis TEM, a DNA based rapid method could be introduced. The DNA based method could dramatically reduce the number of samples analyzed by TEM and thereby increase the speed and reduce the cost of identification. In the present work, four environmental phage isolates were identified based on TEM studies and genome size. The identification of these four phages was validated using DNA based method. The taxon-specific DNA markers were identified through multiple sequence alignments. The primers were designed at conserved genes (DNA polymerase or integrase) of 4 different phage taxa viz. family Ackermannviridae , genus Jerseyvirus , genus T4virus , and genus P22virus. These primers were evaluated using both in vitro and in silico approach for the amplification of the target taxons. Majority of the primer sets were found to amplify member species of the targeted taxa in vitro. In In silico analysis, six primer sets intended for identification of family Ackermannviridae showed positive amplification of ≥86.7% classified species. Further, the primers targeting the genus Jerseyviru s and T4viru s showed the amplification of 53.8% and ≥84.6% species, respectively. The present work is a case study performed to explore the possibility of use of taxon-specific primers for identification and taxonomic studies of newly isolated phages to supplement the TEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translin is a DNA/RNA binding protein involved in DNA repair and RNA metabolism. Previously, we had shown that rice translin (221 amino acids) exhibits biochemical activities similar to that of the human translin protein. Here we report the role of the C-terminal random coil in rice translin function by analyzing truncation (after 215 th residue, Tra - 215) and substitution mutant proteins (Ser216Ala, Lys217Ala, Gln218Ala, Glu219Ala). Circular Dichroism (CD) analysis of Tra–215 showed deviations in comparison to Tra–WT. Truncation abolished the DNA binding activity and octamer formation as evidenced by the absence of ring like structures from TEM analysis. CD analysis of the substitution mutant proteins showed that the secondary structure was maintained in all the mutant proteins in comparison to wild type protein. Native PAGE and TEM analysis of the substitution mutants showed that Lys217Ala mutation completely abolished the octamer formation as rings and nucleic acid binding. Glu219Ala mutation also affected oligomerization but exhibited marginal RNA binding at higher protein concentrations and interestingly, failed to bind to DNA. However, Ser216Ala and Gln218Ala substitutions did not affect above mentioned activities of translin. Our results indicate that the C-terminal residues are one of the determinants of octamer formation in rice translin, with lysine at 217 th position being the most important. Therefore, in conclusion, although the C-terminal residues do not form any defined secondary structure in the translin monomer, they are definitely involved in octamer formation and hence important for its molecular function. We have attempted to find the critical residues in translin function, which will advance our understanding of translin in DNA repair process in general and of rice translin in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully stabilized (8 mol%Y 2 O 3 ) zirconia (8YSZ) reinforced with 5, 10 and 15 wt%CeO 2 are processed via spark plasma sintering (SPS) and conventional pressure less sintering (CS). Higher reduced modulus (E r , ~187.5 GPa) and hardness (H, ~16.2 GPa) are observed in 8YSZ processed by CS when compared to that of SPS (i.e. E r ~135.3 GPa and H~9.04 GPa), which is attributed to the extent of sintering. Several factors, such as thermal conductivity, and porosity are examined as governing factors in order to quantify the extent of sintering. Thermal conductivity of a bulk sample is estimated using various models taking porosity, crystallite size etc. into consideration. Higher extent of sintering is observed for CS pellets (by ≥ 1–2 times) in comparison to that of SPS 8YSZ-CeO 2 samples affirming the enhanced elastic modulus of CS pellets. Further, the smaller indent size to grain size ratio observed for CS pellets (0.01–0.03 times) contribute toward their enhanced damage tolerance during indentation when compared to that of SPS pellets (~15–33 times). Thus, CS processing may elicit enhanced structural integrity of 8YSZ-CeO 2 composites for fuel cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature uniformity after a mixing process plays a very important role in many applications. Non-uniform temperature at the entrance of the turbine in gas turbine systems has an adverse effect on the life of the blades. These temperature non-uniformities cause thermal stresses in the blades leading to higher maintenance costs. This paper presents experimental and numerical results for mixing process in coaxial ducts. The effect of increased jet-to-mainstream momentum flux ratio on the temperature uniformity of the exit flow was analyzed. It was found that better mixing of primary (or hot) stream and dilution (or cold) stream was achieved at higher flux ratio. Almost 85 % of the equilibrium mixture fraction was achieved at flux ratio of 0.85 after which no significant improvement was achieved while the exergy destruction kept on increasing. A new parameter, 'Cooling Rate Number', was defined to identify the potential sites for presence of cold zones within the mixing section. Parametric study reveals that the cooling rate numbers were higher near the dilution holes which may result in rapid cooling of the gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two unicellular cyanobacteria, Synechocystis and Synechococcus, showed contrasting tolerance to Cr(VI); with Synechococcus being 12-fold more tolerant than Synechocystis to potassium dichromate. The mechanism responsible for this differential sensitivity to Cr(VI) was explored in this study. Total content of photosynthetic pigments as well as photosynthetic activity decreased at lower concentration of Cr(VI) in Synechocystis as compared to Synechococcus . Experiments with 51 Cr showed Cr to accumulate intracellularly in both the cyanobacteria. At lower concentrations, Cr(VI) caused excessive ROS generation in Synechocystis as compared to that observed in Synechococcus . Intrinsic levels of enzymatic antioxidants, i.e., superoxide dismutase, catalase and 2-Cys-peroxiredoxin were considerably higher in Synechococcus than Synechocystis . Content of total thiols (both protein as well as non-protein) and reduced glutathione (GSH) was also higher in Synechococcus as compared to Synechocystis . This correlated well with higher content of carbonylated proteins observed in Synechocystis than Synechococcus . Additionally, in contrast to Synechocystis , Synechococcus exhibited better tolerance to other oxidative stresses like high intensity light and H 2 O 2 . The data indicate that the disparity in the ability to detoxify ROS could be the primary mechanism responsible for the differential tolerance of these cyanobacteria to Cr(VI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of non-uniform temperature flow which comes in contact with the turbine blades is of paramount importance since the thermal damage that occur to the blade during its operation, is governed by the non-uniformities present in the oncoming flow. This thermal damage leads to increased maintenance cost and reduced life-span of the turbine blades. This paper investigates the effectiveness of some novel passive control techniques to improve the temperature uniformity of the combustor exit flow to address the need to reduce the thermal damage and hence decrease the overall maintenance cost of the gas turbine system. The novel passive control techniques tested in this study include the use of streamlined body or guide vanes in the dilution zone of the combustor. For the guide vanes four different orientations were tested-0°, 30°, 60°, 90°. Extensive experimentation was conducted under different flow conditions. The deviation of the exit temperature from the equilibrium mixing temperature was used to compare the effectiveness of different passive control techniques. It was found that the 30 guide vanes gave the most uniform temperature flow under majority of cases considered. On an average, the flow with 30 guide vanes was about 15 % more uniform in temperature as compared to the staggered holes geometry with only 1 % higher pressure loss. The possible reason for this improvement is the combination of swirl and depth to which the dilution flow can enter the dilution zone and mix with the primary hot flow. The streamlined body came second with an improvement in pressure losses. Based on these experimental findings, the use of these guide vanes and streamlined body has potential in the gas turbine industry to deal with the high maintenance cost involved in these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coconut, cocoa and arecanut are commercial plantation crops that play a vital role in the Indian economy while sustaining the livelihood of more than 10 million Indians. According to 2012 Food and Agricultural organization's report, India is the third largest producer of coconut and it dominates the production of arecanut worldwide. In this study, three Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) from coconut (CPCRI-1), cocoa (CPCRI-2) and arecanut (CPCRI-3) characterized for the PGP activities have been sequenced. The draft genome sizes were 4.7 Mb (56% GC), 5.9 Mb (63.6% GC) and 5.1 Mb (54.8% GB) for CPCRI-1, CPCRI-2, CPCRI-3, respectively. These genomes encoded 4056 (CPCRI-1), 4637 (CPCRI-2) and 4286 (CPCRI-3) protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that both CPCRI-1 and CPCRI-3 belonged to Enterobacteriaceae family, while, CPCRI-2 was a Pseudomonadaceae family member. Functional annotation of the genes predicted that all three bacteria encoded genes needed for mineral phosphate solubilization, siderophores, acetoin, butanediol, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, chitinase, phenazine, 4-hydroxybenzoate, trehalose and quorum sensing molecules supportive of the plant growth promoting traits observed in the course of their isolation and characterization. Additionally, in all the three CPCRI PGPRs, we identified genes involved in synthesis of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which recently has been proposed to aid plant growth. The PGPRs also carried genes for central carbohydrate metabolism indicating that the bacteria can efficiently utilize the root exudates and other organic materials as energy source. Genes for production of peroxidases, catalases and superoxide dismutases that confer resistance to oxidative stresses in plants were identified. Besides these, genes for heat shock tolerance, cold shock tolerance and glycine-betaine production that enable bacteria to survive abiotic stress were also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidences indicate soil microorganisms are responsible for providing food to the world. However, less importance is given to satisfy food needs of millions and millions of soil microbes whose services support lives on Earth. Carbon, present as soil organic carbon, is the food for these microbes. In India, annually, hundreds of tonnes of carbon present in agro-wastes are squandered by burning them. Recycling agro-wastes is simplest strategy to return carbon to soils and provide food for the microbes. It will not be inappropriate to argue that a soil with good organic carbon content and microbial activities is fundamental to realize full benefit of all agricultural technologies aimed at improving food production. In this article, we reason out why and how 'putting food on table of soil microbes will supply food on our table'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two plant growth promoting bacteria designated as KiSII and RNF 267 isolated from the rhizosphere of coconut palms were identified as Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter sp. based on their phenotypic features, BIOLOG studies and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Both bacteria exhibited phosphate solubilization, ammonification, and production of indole acetic acid, β-1, 3 glucanase activities and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate-deaminase activity. They could also tolerate a range of pH conditions, low temperature and salinity (NaCl). In addition, S. marcescens KiSII exhibited N- fixation potential, chitinase activity, siderophore production and antibiotics production. Seed bacterization with these bacteria increased the growth parameters of test plants such as paddy and cowpea over uninoculated control in green house assay. In coconut seedlings, significant increase in growth and nutrient uptake accompanied with higher populations of plant beneficial microorganisms in their rhizospheres were recorded on inoculation with both the PGPRs. The present study clearly revealed that PGPRs can aid in production of healthy and vigorous seedlings of coconut palm which are hardy perennial crops. They offer a scope to be developed into novel PGPR based bioinoculants for production of elite seedlings that can benefit the coconut farming community and the coconut based ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The search for newer compounds against pathogenic species continues unabated due to drug resistance. Traditionally, Tagetes erecta Linn. (Compositae) has been used for the treatment of various parasitic and microbial diseases. Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant activity of the ethanol extract of Tagetes erecta roots and its cytotoxicity against prostate and HeLa cancer cell lines followed by activity-guided isolation. Materials and Methods: The antioxidant screening was carried out using diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay with serial concentrations ranging from 2 to 100 µg/mL, and cytotoxicity was evaluated against prostate (PC-3) and HeLa cell lines using microculture tetrazolium test (MTT) assay with concentrations ranging from 500 to 1.89 µg/mL. Isolation of the ethanol extract was carried out using column chromatography whereby 21 isolates were obtained (T1-T21), and the most active isolate was subjected for characterization using ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and mass spectroscopic techniques. Results: The ethanol extract scavenged DPPH free radicals thereby exhibiting antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 35.9 µg/mL. In addition, the extract conferred noticeable cytotoxicity against the HeLa (LD50 of 164.28 µg/mL) and PC-3 cell lines (LD50 of 407.3 µg/mL). Among all the isolates, T3 showed antioxidant activity with IC50 of 11.56 µg/mL and cytotoxicity with LD50 of 12.5 µg/mL against HeLa and 30.25 µg/mL against PC-3 cell lines and was characterized as 2-ethynyl-5-(thiophen-2-yl) thiophene. Discussion: The new thienyl compound (T3) exhibited profound antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity at relatively lower concentrations than the extract. Conclusion: The observations provide support for the ethnobotanical use of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) cycle has been analyzed in order to improve the efficiency of the gas - steam combined cycle and utilization of waste heat. The efficiency of the combined cycle is improved by decreasing the compressor inlet temperature (CIT) and increasing the turbine inlet temperature (TIT). It is observed that the cycle offers the advantage of making efficient use of the energy available in the fuel and in turn, eliminate some portion of pollution associated with the power generation. The study also reveals that if this cycle is being employed for cogeneration, there is a significant saving (11.60%) in the amount of Carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by the coal-fired thermal power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A Contract Research Organization (CRO) is a service organization that provides support to the pharmaceutical industry and offers a wide range of “outsourced” pharmaceutical research services to aid in R&D process and is thus an essential tool for undertaking clinical trials in the present scenario when high stakes are involved in the drug discovery process. This industry also offers a safe option of investment as the industry is largely recession-proof, with a significant upscale growth. Presently India occupies a very small pie of the global market share in the Clinical Trials Industry but it is estimated to conduct nearly 5% of global clinical trials by 2012. The global CRO industry valued $18bn in 2008 and the market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14% between 2009 and 13. Top multinational pharmaceuticals companies are venturing into the Indian business, in collaboration with the Indian Drug Companies. According to a recent study by Mckinsey & Company, the Indian Clinical Research Industry can attract $1.5bn of revenue from US and EU by 2010. Such an increase in outsourcing from the western countries has led the global pharma companies and Indian entrepreneurs to set up Contract Research Organizations (CROs) in India. To bring this into realization and fulfil the market demand, while simultaneously aiding in improving the country''s economical standards and market position, joint and well-coordinated efforts on part of the government, industry, and working professionals are needed in terms of regulatory affairs, audits, transparency in work affairs, garnering patient confidence, and pharmacovigilance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Coconut leaf vermiwash (CLV) was produced from actively vermicomposting coconut leaf litter + cow dung substrate (10 : 1 w/w basis) by Eudrilus sp. It significantly increased the seedling vigour index of cowpea and paddy at 1 : 10 and 1 : 15 dilutions in laboratory trials. Field trials carried out in red sandy loam soil (Arenic Paleustults) resulted an increase of 36% fresh biomass weight of cowpea with application of CLV at 1 : 10 dilution. In maize, increase in cob yield by 5-10% and in bhendi (okra) 22-33% increase in fruit yield were recorded at 1 : 5 dilutions of CLV. A concomitant increase in populations of general and plant beneficial microorganisms and soil enzyme activities in the rhizosphere of CLV-applied plants were also recorded. Soil organic carbon content increased in the CLV-applied plots in all the crops studied, but the total N, available P and K content in soil varied in different crops. The study indicated that CLV must be used in graded doses. Its application increased the crop production capacities of soil by (i) enhancing the organic carbon contents in the soil and (ii) increasing the populations of the soil microorganisms, particularly plant beneficial ones, and their activities which would have facilitated increased uptake of the nutrients by the plants resulting in higher growth and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is a bridge to definitive management in a patient with compromised systolic function. It is a life-saving mechanical support to the failing myocardium. It is a procedure that should be employed judiciously with utmost caution. In this correspondence, we aim to highlight a rather serious complication associated with IABP use. A patient with triple vessel disease was posted for coronary artery bypass grafting with poor left ventricular function (ejection fraction 30%) and previous myocardial infarction 4 months back. An IABP was inserted in the left femoral artery following which he developed irreversible ischemia of the left lower limb leading to amputation of the limb. This catastrophic complication is one of the most dreaded impediments in the use of IABP. The clinician needs to weigh the pros and cons carefully and employ this vital procedure only when its use is explicitly justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI) is rare and an important cause of hypoglycemia in neonates. It can lead to brain damage or death secondary to severe hypoglycemia. We present the anesthetic management in a diagnosed case of PHHI in an 8-day-old male neonate for total pancreatectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population densities of 15 microbial communities in the coconut leaves + cow manure mixture (10:1 ratio, w/w) and pure cow manure, gut contents of the earthworm, Eudrilus sp., reared on the above substrates and vermicompost produced by the worm were studied. The enumeration was done by dilution plate and most probable number method using several selective and semi-selective microbial media. In the vermicompost produced from coconut leaves + cow manure (CLV) mixture, 9 out of 15 microbial communities, particularly the plant beneficial ones, were amplified whereas five communities were amplified in case of pure cow manure (CMV). The CLV contained significantly high population of fungi, free-living nitrogen fixers, phosphate solubilizers, fluorescent pseudomonads, and silicate solubilizers. The CMV was preponderant with aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, actinomycetes, and Trichoderma spp. Spore formers were present in similar numbers in both the vermicomposts. Presence of Azotobacter was detected only in CMV. The results obtained in this study suggest coconut leaf litter to be a good alternative for cow manure for the production of vermicompost, especially in the areas where coconut is grown in plenty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different ratios of epoxy resin (i.e., diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A [DGEBA] and caprolactam) have been used to synthesize DGEBA/polycaprolactam reactive blends by carrying out anionic polymerization of caprolactam at 140°C. Anionic polymerization conducted by a strong base such as sodium hydride was used as a catalyst along with a cocatalyst such as N-acetyl caprolactam. The experiments were carried out to study the effect of composition on the adhesive property (i.e., lap shear strength and chemical resistance of the reactive blends). It was observed that the lap shear strength of the reactive blends increased with increasing DGEBA content from 50 to 70 wt% and increased drastically above 70 wt% DGEBA content with all metals (i.e., copper, aluminum, stainless steel, and mild steel). The lap shear strengths of all these reactive blends were observed to be maximum on mild steel. The study of chemical resistance indicates that the films of reactive blends Ep75Ca25 and Ep80Ca20 with 75 and 80 wt% DGEBA content showed better resistance to acids, alkalies, and solvents than the reactive blends Ep50Ca50 and Ep70Ca30 with 50 and 70 wt% DGEBA content. Among the solvents, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, and methanol were found to be more attacking as compared to acetone, xylene, and ethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effect of 10% azadirachtin granules (alcoholic extract of neem seed kernel mixed with China clay) was studied on the population of bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, Azotobacter and nitrifying bacteria; soil dehydrogenase, phosphatase and respiratory activities on 0, 15th, 30th, 60th and 90th days after application in sandy loam soil collected from the fields. It was observed that baring the Azotobacter sp., azadirachtin at all the doses exerted a suppressive effect on the rest of the microbial communities and enzyme activities in the initial 15day period. The population of bacteria, actinomycetes besides phosphatase and respiratory activities recovered after 60th day and subsequently increased significantly. The fungi and nitrifiers were most sensitive groups as their numbers were reduced significantly throughout the studies. The two times and five times recommended dose of azadirachtin had very high biocidal effects on the soil microorganisms and its activities. However, analysis of the data by the Shannon Weaver index showed that azadirachtin reduces both the form and functional microbial diversity at all doses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: During vermicomposting of coconut leaves by the earthworm Eudrilus sp., Oryctes rhinoceros L. (rhinoceros beetle), an insect pest of palms, was found to breed in the decomposing organic material. Metarhizium anisopliae var. major was tried as a biocontrol agent for management of this pest. The effect of pathogen at spore loads of 103, 104 and 105 per 10g of substrate was tested in laboratory on Eudrilus sp. kept with O. rhinoceros grubs and on Eudrilus sp. alone for the pathogenic capability of the fungus on the pest and its possible toxicity towards the vermin. The efficacy of the entomopathogen was also tested in the field in vermicomposting tanks. In laboratory bioassay, 100% mycosis of O. rhinoceros grubs could be obtained while the entomopathogen had no toxic effect on the earthworms. There was a positive change in the number and weight of the earthworms on treatment with M. anisopliae. In the field, application of M. anisopliae reduced O. rhinoceros grubs in the vermicomposting tanks upto an extent of 72%. In conclusion, M. anisopliae could effectively control O. rhinoceros in vermicomposting sites and was non-hazardous to the vermicomposting process as well as the Eudrilus sp. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pseudomonas alcaligenes was detected at a high concentration (10[sup 9]–10[sup 10] cells mL[sup -1]) in the haemolymph of some dead Oryctes rhinoceros grubs collected from its breeding sites in the three southern districts, viz. Alleppey, Quilon and Kottayam of Kerala State, India. In a laboratory colony maintained for production of Oryctes virus, an important biocontrol agent of this major coconut pest, approximately 52% of the grubs succumbed to septicaemia with similar symptoms. The bacterium was found to be a component of the gut microflora of healthy grubs. Occurrence of the viral infection naturally or when induced in the laboratory in the O. rhinoceros grubs, appeared to be one of the biotic stress factors for P.alcaligenes to become an opportunistic pathogen. A preponderance of this bacterial infection in field populations during the periods when natural viral infection in grubs was above average, agrees with this observation. This finding becomes significant as infection by the opportunistic bacterial pathogen, P. alcaligenes, reduces the production of Oryctes virus inoculum in nature and limits the field-perpetuation of this viral biocontrol agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nutritional profile of the underutilized leaves of Boerhavia diffusa was determined using standard methods. Proximate composition and antinutritional factors were determined and found that leaves contain 88.48±0.27 g moisture, 2.4±0.07 g total ash, 1.45±0.09 g crude protein, 1.12±0.009 g fat, 0.97±0.03 g crude fibre per 100g of dry matter. Total carbohydrate content was 5.51±0.56 g while calorific value calculated 38±1.46 kcals per 100g. Mineral contents were found as 20.02±0.31 mg iron, 250.6±2.17 mg calcium per 100g of leaves. Vitamin C and β-carotene were found 38.0 mg and 4400±47.1 μg per 100g of dry leaves. Based on analytical study of underutilized B. diffusa leaves was found to contain good source of Ca, Fe, fibre, protein which can be incorporated in human diet to meet the demand of recommended dietary allowances specially in rural areas where it is obtained abundantly. B. diffusa also contain antinutritional factors like phytate 10.5±0.12mg and oxalate 11.73±1.13 mg/100g which are lesser in amount as per RDA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a procedure for obtaining fairly pure phycocyanin from a local isolate of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp ( Anacystis nidulans BD1). Cells were incubated with 1 mg∙mL−1 of lysozyme at 37°C for 16 h with shaking. The cell-free extract was treated with activated charcoal and chitosan. The purity ( A620/280) of phycocyanin obtained after lysozyme treatment was up to 2.18, which could be improved to 4.72 after incubation with activated charcoal and chitosan. The yield of phycocyanin was 80–100 mg∙g−1 dry weight of cells. The method reported here is a single-step and efficient procedure and has the potential to be adopted for large-scale production of phycocyanin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present communication deals with the development of a new, simple, specific, sensitive, rapid and economical procedure for simultaneous estimation of atorvastatin calcium and amlodipine besylate in a combined dosage form. The method is based on the native ultraviolet absorbance maxima of the two chemotherapeutic agents. As both compounds do not interact chemically in methanol, two wavelengths 246 nm for atorvastatin calcium and 360 nm for amlodipine besylate were used. Both the drugs obeyed Beer's law in the concentration range that was employed in the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Functional role of Y85, R86, H88, R92 and K193 in human translin is established. • K193G mutation abolished the octameric state of Translin and its ability to bind nucleic acids. • R86 and R92 residues found to be to be important for DNA/RNA binding. • H88A mutant showed higher nucleic acid binding affinity in comparison to the wild type Translin. Translin is a multifunctional DNA/RNA binding protein involved in DNA repair and RNA metabolism. It has two basic regions and involvement of some residues in these regions in nucleic acid binding is established experimentally. Here we report the functional role of four residues of basic region II, Y85, R86, H88, R92 and one residue of C terminal region, K193 in nucleic acid binding using substitution mutant variants. CD analysis of the mutant proteins showed that secondary structure was maintained in all the mutant proteins in comparison to wild type protein. Octameric state was maintained in all the mutants of basic region as evidenced by TEM, DLS, native PAGE and gel filtration analyses. However, K193G mutation completely abolished the octameric state of Translin protein and consequently its ability to bind ssDNA/ssRNA. The mutants of the basic region II exhibited a differential effect on nucleic acid binding, with R86A and R92G as most deleterious. Interestingly, H88A mutant showed higher nucleic acid binding affinity in comparison to the wild type Translin. An in silico analysis of the mutant variant sequences predicted all the mutations to be destabilizing, causing increase in flexibility and also leading to disruption of local interactions. The differential effect of mutations on DNA/RNA binding where octameric state is maintained could be attributed to these predicted disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, supramolecular self-assembled core–shell nanostructures have emerged as advanced and notable drug delivery vehicles in biomedical arena for human health. Here, we have modified curcumin via Michael addition reaction with 3-mercaptopropionic acid followed by preparation of an amphiphatic conjugate employing hydrophilic polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (mPEG). The synthesized compounds, curcumin-S-propionic acid (Cur-S) and curcumin-S-propionoyl-mPEG (Cur-S-mPEG), were spectroscopically characterized. Self-assembly of Cur-S-mPEG into micellar nanostructures was monitored by dynamic light scattering, which revealed the size of these nanostructures in the range of ~ 104 nm. Transmission electron microscopic analysis showed the size of these nanostructures ~ 26 nm. These micelles with hydrophobic pockets were then demonstrated to entrap hydrophobic therapeutics, ornidazole (Oz) and sulfasalazine (Sz), successfully with high efficiency. Drug-loaded formulations, Cur-S-mPEG(Oz) and Cur-S-mPEG(Sz), showed sustained release of drugs over a longer duration, particularly, a higher release at neutral pH 7.2 displaying the usefulness of the nanocarrier for colonic delivery. MTT assay performed on HEK 293 and Hep G2 cells displayed the non-toxic nature of the nanocarrier on normal cells (HEK 293 cells) while toxic on cancer cells (Hep G2 cells). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of virtual reality (VR) in healthcare has expanded in recent years. The challenges faced by patients with prolonged COVID-19-related hospitalizations – social isolation, disability, neurologic sequelae, adjustment-related anxiety, depression, and stress – may be mitigated by the novel use of VR as one modality of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan. This descriptive study aimed to understand patient satisfaction and perceived benefit of virtual reality on a COVID-19 recovery unit, as well as the logistical and operational feasibility of providing VR content for patients and staff. During the COVID-19 surge in New York City in 2020, the COVID-19 Recovery Unit (CRU) of a large academic hospital invited patients and staff to participate in VR sessions with three categories of experience: (1) Guided meditation, (2) Exploration of natural environments, (3) Cognitive stimulation games. Patients and staff were surveyed about satisfaction and perceived benefit. 13 patients and 11 staff were surveyed, with median patient satisfaction scores of 9 out of 10, with ten representing "extremely satisfied," and median staff satisfaction scores of 10. 13/13 patients answered "yes" to recommending the therapy to others, and 12/13 answered "yes" to perceived enhancement of their treatment. 11/11 staff answered "yes" to recommending the therapy to others, and 11/11 answered "yes" to perceived enhancement of their wellbeing. A VR program implemented on a COVID-19 rehabilitation unit for patients and healthcare providers was rated as highly satisfactory with perceived benefit by survey respondents. Participants commented that the use of VR was useful in coping with isolation and loneliness, and could be implemented within the context of clinical care for COVID-19 patients as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation model. The use of VR was also logistically and operationally feasible on the CRU. Future work to compare benefits of VR to standard neuropsychological rehabilitation is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented regarding airway management of congenital tracheo-oesophageal fistula and oesophageal atresia (TOF/OA) with subglottic stenosis in neonates.

Introduction: Psoriasis is estimated to affect 0.44–2.8% of the Indian population. Moisturizers are a key adjuvant psoriasis treatment strategy, but data regarding their effectiveness, safety and compliance pattern in an Indian context are lacking. Hence, this real-world study on an intensive plant-based butter moisturizing cream (Venusia ® Max) was conducted among Indian patients with psoriasis. Methods: This was an observational, patient-reported outcomes (PRO) study in patients with psoriasis aged 18–75 years who were prescribed the cream in routine clinical practice, as per clinician's discretion, over 4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was improvement from baseline in quality of life assessed using the Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI) at 4 weeks of the study period. The secondary outcome measures were improvement in dryness using the Dry Skin/Ichthyosis Area and Severity Index (DASI) score at 4 weeks, safety and compliance. The DLQI and DASI scores were recorded by the clinicians at baseline and after 2 (optional) and 4 weeks of starting the cream. Safety was assessed throughout the study. Results: The study included 400 patients from 9 outpatient dermatology centers across India. Of 400 patients, 384 completed the study. A significant reduction in both the mean DLQI score (66.7%; p < 0.001) and mean DASI score (84.6%; p < 0.001) was observed at week 4 after starting the cream vs. baseline in the overall population. Overall, the cream showed a good safety and compliance profile during the study period. There were no serious adverse events or deaths. Conclusions: The evidence from the PRO study suggests that use of the intensive plant-based butter moisturizing cream in a real-world scenario has a noticeable impact on improving the quality of life and reducing the skin dryness associated with psoriasis over 4 weeks. The moisturizing cream may serve as a valuable adjuvant treatment option for the management of psoriasis. Trial Registration Number: CTRI/2017/03/008023. Funding: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Site-specific delivery of therapeutics promises better outcomes in the treatment of diseases. A small ligand, anisamide, has been shown to specifically bind sigma receptors highly overexpressed on prostate cancer cells, one of the leading cancers causing deaths worldwide. Here, anisamide-tethered polyethylenimine polymers (AP) have been synthesized and evaluated for their capability to transport nucleic acid across the cell membrane. A series of modified polymers (AP-1 to AP-4) was synthesized, physicochemically characterized, and evaluated for their transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity. Postconjugation, there was a marginal decrease in the buffering capacity; however, it did not diminish the ultimate objective of the study rather improved the transfection efficiency and decreased the cytotoxicity making these polymers as efficient and safe vectors for nucleic acid delivery. All the modified polymers displayed enhanced capability to deliver DNA inside the cells. Among the series, the modified polymer, AP-4 (10% attempted substitution), exhibited the highest transfection in HEK293 cells having abundant sigma receptors with minimal cytotoxicity. The projected polymer also showed complete protection of bound DNA against enzymatic degradation. Altogether, the results demonstrated targeting ability of the proposed polymers to deliver nucleic acid to sigma receptor–bearing cells in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Process of senescence includes multiple steps involving break-down of chlorophyll to degrade photosynthetic machinery. In this study, we showed that a stress-associated NAC transcription factor MpSNAC67 regulates senescence by promoting chlorophyll-catabolic genes. MpSNAC67 encodes a transcriptional activator and its promoter activity is restricted to vascular tissue of banana. Expression of MpSNAC67 showed positive responses to multiple abiotic stress conditions suggesting that MpSNAC67 is a stress associated NAC transcription factor. Transgenic banana lines overexpressing MpSNAC67 showed highly senesced phenotype including yellowing and de-greening of leaves similar to etiolated leaves. Transgenic leaves possessed low chlorophyll content and failed to retain normal chloroplast morphology including loss of granum thylakoid, non-uniform chloroplast membrane and increased number as well as size of plastoglobulins. In a gel shift assay MpSNAC67 could retard the mobility of chlorophyll catabolic genes such as PAO -like (Pheophorbide-a-oxygenase), HCAR -like (hydroxymethyl chlorophyll-a-reductase), NYC / NOL -like (Chlorophyll-b-reductase) as well as ORS1 -like (a SenNAC). Expression of these genes were highly elevated in transgenic lines which indicate that MpSNAC67 is a positive regulator of senescence in banana and exercise its effect by regulating the expression of chlorophyll catabolic genes and ORS1. Highlights • Regulation of chlorophyll catabolic genes by banana SNAC67 is demonstrated. • SNAC67 is a stress associated gene with transcriptional activation activity. • Expression of SNAC67 in vascular tissue is regulated through SNBE sites. • SNAC67 induced abnormal chloroplast structure and reduced chlorophyll content. • SNAC67 binds to regulatory region of genes involved in chlorophyll degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional food is a modified food that claims to improve health or well-being by providing benefits. Functional foods may include such items as cereals, breads and beverages these are fortified with vitamins, some herbs, and nutraceuticals. It was observed that T1 showed highest protein, fat and ash content among various treatments. T1 has highest oxylate content with respect to anti nutritional content. Here expect proximate value fibre impart functional properties to the food which has therapeutic value. T4 has highest phytic acid, flavonoids and tannin had highest amount moisture, fibre, carbohydrate and energy content while T4 has highest total phenol and DPPH scavenging activity with respect to antioxidant. The study suggests that wheat flour, barley flour, garlic powder and black cumin seed powder can be used for ready to eat functional food products and commercial purpose because of its exotic flavour and nutritive value was higher to the products than market products and helps in many metabolic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, scholars have empirically demonstrated that creativity can be described as radical or incremental creativity. In efforts to better understand the nomological networks underlying radical and incremental creativity, this study explored the role that positive emotions directly and indirectly plays in predicting each type of creativity. Further, whether the nature of these mediated relationships varied differentially as a function of employees’ tendency to also engage in such purposeful activities as monitoring their creative behaviors and deepening their expertise was also explored. The resultant moderated-mediation model was tested in a field study of 129 professional employees in a large North American consumer products organization. Results indicated that positive emotions influence incremental and radical creativity differentially through fun, and that the degree to which individuals engage in monitoring impacts their levels of creativity. Implications and future directions for research and practitioners are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are currently investigating self-assembled nanostructures from short oligomers of β-amino acids and their subsequent use as drug delivery systems. Successful demonstration by our group of self-assembled nanovesicular structures, generated from a β-alanine homotetramer, as carriers for the hydrophobic drug l-Dopa has prompted us to design even more efficient drug delivery systems from the β-amino acid containing peptoid. In the present study, we report a systematic study on the self-assembly of an amphiphilic mixed α/β-tetrapeptoid, H-βAla-βAla-Lys-βAla-NH2. The secondary structure of the tetrapeptoid in a self-assembled state is studied using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Circular Dichroism (CD). These studies are strongly indicative of the presence of the β-sheet conformation, a requisite for self-assembly. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) measurements reveal that the tetrapeptoid self-assembles to stable nanovesicular structures having an average hydrodynamic size of ∼343 nm and a zeta potential of ∼21 mV. The morphology of the self-assembled cationic structures in aqueous solutions was studied by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Supportive evidence regarding the conformation of the peptoid is provided by a conformational search using computational methods. The theoretically predicted minimum energy structure depicts a curved strand type of conformation. Four of these curved strands are then subjected to a geometry optimization that resulted in the formation of an assembly with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic exterior. Successful entrapping of hydrophobic molecules of drugs, aspirin and l-Dopa, into the generated nanostructures is revealed by DLS measurements and TEM micrographs. Absorption spectroscopic studies were conducted to study the interaction between the generated nanostructures and each of the hydrophobic drugs, aspirin, and l-Dopa with significant association constant values of the order of 106 to 105, respectively. These described nanostructures from the tetrapeptoid may be developed into efficient drug delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deinococcus radiodurans and Escherichia coli expressing either PhoN, a periplasmic acid phosphatase, or PhoK, an extracellular alkaline phosphatase, were evaluated for uranium (U) bioprecipitation under two specific geochemical conditions (GCs): (i) a carbonate-deficient condition at near-neutral pH (GC1), and (ii) a carbonate-abundant condition at alkaline pH (GC2). Transmission electron microscopy revealed that recombinant cells expressing PhoN/PhoK formed cell-associated uranyl phosphate precipitate under GC1, whereas the same cells displayed extracellular precipitation under GC2. These results implied that the cell-bound or extracellular location of the precipitate was governed by the uranyl species prevalent at that particular GC, rather than the location of phosphatase. MINTEQ modeling predicted the formation of predominantly positively charged uranium hydroxide ions under GC1 and negatively charged uranyl carbonate-hydroxide complexes under GC2. Both microbes adsorbed 6- to 10-fold more U under GC1 than under GC2, suggesting that higher biosorption of U to the bacterial cell surface under GC1 may lead to cell-associated U precipitation. In contrast, at alkaline pH and in the presence of excess carbonate under GC2, poor biosorption of negatively charged uranyl carbonate complexes on the cell surface might have resulted in extracellular precipitation. The toxicity of U observed under GC1 being higher than that under GC2 could also be attributed to the preferential adsorption of U on cell surfaces under GC1. This work provides a vivid description of the interaction of U complexes with bacterial cells. The findings have implications for the toxicity of various U species and for developing biological aqueous effluent waste treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of cocoa solids and coconut sugar on the sensory perception of bean‐to‐bar dark chocolate were investigated with mixture design using response surface methodology. The maximum and minimum levels of cocoa nib, cocoa butter, and coconut sugar for the preparation of chocolate were 35–50%, 15–30%, and 20–35%, respectively. A suitable mathematical model was used to evaluate each response. Maximum and minimum levels of components caused a poor sensory acceptance of the resultant dark chocolate. The optimum level of independent variables, for the best set of responses, was 44.7% cocoa nib, 25.2% cocoa butter, and 30.2% coconut sugar, with a hedonic score of 8.28 for appearance, 8.64 for mouth feel, 8.71 for texture, 8.68 for taste, and 8.51 for overall acceptability, at a desirability of 0.86. The minimum time for grinding the chocolate mix was 24 hour, which was evident from the microscopic analysis of the chocolate mix. The optimized chocolate (70% dark) per 100 g constitutes 1.06 g moisture, 50.09 g crude fat, 10.37 g crude protein, 35.90 g carbohydrates, and 2.55 g ash content. The L, a, b values indicated a darker color and was stable under ambient condition with a hardness value of 59.52 N, which significantly decreased to 16.23 N within 10 min at ambient temperature (30 ± 2°C). The addition of coconut sugar along with cocoa solids incorporates polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidant potential, and minerals into bean‐to‐bar dark chocolate and hence offers a commercial value and health potential for stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]