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Abstract Communication services that are dependable are crucial, particularly during emergencies when the regular infrastructure for communication may be disrupted or nonexistent. In such situations, device-to-device (D2D) communication can be a helpful choice since it allows user equipment (UE) that is close to one another to connect directly, bypassing the cellular network infrastructure. The primary focus of this thesis is the application of D2D communication in a decentralized emergency scenario with a damaged eNodeB. The main objective is to find an appropriate strategy for finding and selecting D2D couples by simulating several methods in MATLAB. This study compares three D2D pair selection algorithms: distance-based, Signal-to-Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR)-based, and data rate-based distance-based. The simulation results show that the data rate-based strategy is the most effective method for selecting D2D couples in emergency scenarios. In contrast to algorithms that rely on distance and SINR, this one reduces the chance of an outage by 20%. Bit error rate (BER), capacity, spectral efficiency, and energy efficiency are the three types of links that are assessed: direct links, relay links, and UE relay links. The results show that, with the lowest BER and maximum data throughput, the direct link is the most reliable and efficient communication option. However, the relay connection and the UE relay link show better overall spectral efficiency in comparison to the direct link, indicating their ability to transport more data per unit of bandwidth. The option that consumes the least energy among the three is the direct link. The study demonstrates the great potential of D2D communication in emergency scenarios where conventional communication infrastructure may not be available. The direct link is the most dependable and effective alternative for communication, according to the data, although the UE link can still function effectively in the event that the direct link is compromised. The data rate-based method is a useful strategy for finding and choosing D2D partners. The results of this study can direct the development of D2D emergency communication solutions in 5G networks.

The object of this study was to formulate new, cost effective anti-microbial combination for multidrug resistant diseases based on the synergistic activity of oxytetracycline with methanolic extract of Thespesia populnea (Malvaceae) a medicinal plant common in South India. The MIC of methanolic extracts in combination with oxytetracycline using 12 different both gram positive and gram negative bacteria was found to be around (62.5 µg/ml to 1000 µg/ml). The synergistic activity was verified using Kirby and Bauer techniques. 83.3% shows synergistic activity against all 12 different bacteria both gram positive and gram negative species. The highest synergism rate was attained against Shigella boydii (ATCC8700).

The object of this study was to formulate new, cost effective anti-microbial combination for multidrug resistant diseases based on the synergistic activity of oxytetracycline with methanolic extract of Thespesia populnea (Malvaceae) a medicinal plant common in South India. The MIC of methanolic extracts in combination with oxytetracycline using 12 different both gram positive and gram negative bacteria was found to be around (62.5 µg/mL to 1000 µg/mL). The synergistic activity was verified using Kirby and Bauer techniques. 83.3% shows synergistic activity against all 12 different bacteria both gram positive and gram negative species. The highest synergism rate was attained against Shigella boydii (ATCC8700).

Background: To identify the adolescent school girls with risk for polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), assess their risk status, and evaluate the impact of lifestyle modifications on PCOS risk reduction., Methods: An experimental research was conducted among adolescent girls belonging to two Government run schools in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu state, India, from 6 June to 9 December 2016. A standard risk assessment questionnaire was adopted for risk assessment after making few modifications (Cronbach alpha 0.86). The experimental group received lifestyle modifications (yoga for two months and walking exercise for two months), with no such intervention provided for the control group. The impact of these interventions was assessed in terms of risk minimization and a P value less than .05 was considered statistically significant., Results: A total of 204 (control-102; experimental-102) girls with statistically insignificant difference in demographic features were studied. During the pretest, 85.2% (n = 87) in the experimental group and 83.3% (n = 85) the controls had "moderate risk" for PCOS. Girls with "high risk" level of PCOS were 14.8% (n = 15) and 15.7% (n = 17) in the experimental group and the control group, respectively. In posttest-1 (after yoga sessions) risk assessment, 71.6% had "moderate risk," 5.9% had "high risk" in the experimental group, whereas 87.3% had "moderate risk" and 12.7% had "high risk" in the control group. In posttest-2 (after exercise sessions) risk assessment, 48% had "moderate risk" and 0% had high risk in the experimental group, whereas 88.2% were "moderate risk" and 11.8% were "high risk" in the control group. Repeated measure ANOVA with Greenhouse-Geisser correction showed mean risk reduction score statistically significant between pretest and post-test (33.38 ± 7.28 vs 22.75 ± 12.09, respectively mean difference is 10.63: F = 236.12 P  < .001), suggesting a positive correlation with the intervention., Conclusions: Yoga and exercise were beneficial in minimizing PCOS risk, as reflected in the risk assessment score. More such interventions, covering different schools, could provide larger health benefits., Competing Interests: The authors declare there is no conflict of interest., (© 2020 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Sucrose, as the main product of photosynthesis, plays crucial roles in plant development. Although studies on general metabolism pathway were well documented, less information is available on the genome-wide identification of these genes, their expansion and evolutionary history as well as their biological functions. We focused on four sucrose metabolism related gene families including sucrose synthase, sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose phosphate phosphatase and UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase. These gene families exhibited different expansion and evolutionary history as their host genomes experienced differentiated rates of the whole genome duplication, tandem and segmental duplication, or mobile element mediated gene gain and loss. They were evolutionarily conserved under purifying selection among species and expression divergence played important roles for gene survival after expansion. However, we have detected recent positive selection during intra-species divergence. Overexpression of 15 sorghum genes in Arabidopsis revealed their roles in biomass accumulation, flowering time control, seed germination and response to high salinity and sugar stresses. Our studies uncovered the molecular mechanisms of gene expansion and evolution and also provided new insight into the role of positive selection in intra-species divergence. Overexpression data revealed novel biological functions of these genes in flowering time control and seed germination under normal and stress conditions.

Background: Gene upstream regularly sequences (URSs) can be used as one of the tools to annotate the biological functions of corresponding genes. In addition, tissue-preferred URSs are frequently used to drive the transgene expression exclusively in targeted tissues during plant transgenesis. Although many rice URSs have been molecularly characterized, it is still necessary and valuable to identify URSs that will benefit plant transformation and aid in analyzing gene function., Results: In this study, we identified and characterized root-, seed-, leaf-, and panicle-preferred genes on a genome-wide level in rice. Subsequently, their expression patterns were confirmed through quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) by randomly selecting 9candidate tissue-preferred genes. In addition, 5 tissue-preferred URSs were characterized by investigating the URS::GUS transgenic plants. Of these URS::GUS analyses, the transgenic plants harboring LOC&#95;Os03g11350 URS::GUS construct showed the GUS activity only in young pollen. In contrast, when LOC&#95;Os10g22450 URS was used to drive the reporter GUS gene, the GUS activity was detected only in mature pollen. Interestingly, the LOC&#95;Os10g34360 URS was found to be vascular bundle preferred and its activities were restricted only to vascular bundles of leaves, roots and florets. In addition, we have also identified two URSs from genes LOC&#95;Os02G15090 and LOC&#95;Os06g31070 expressed in a seed-preferred manner showing the highest expression levels of GUS activities in mature seeds., Conclusion: By genome-wide analysis, we have identified tissue-preferred URSs, five of which were further characterized using transgenic plants harboring URS::GUS constructs. These data might provide some evidence for possible functions of the genes and be a valuable resource for tissue-preferred candidate URSs for plant transgenesis.

Several strategies have been developed to clone PCR fragments into desired vectors. However, most of commercially available T-vectors are not binary vectors and cannot be directly used for Agrobacterium-mediated plant genetic transformation. In this study, a novel binary T-vector was constructed by integrating two AhdI restriction sites into the backbone vector pCAMBIA 1300. The T-vector also contains a GFP reporter gene and thus, can be used to analyze promoter activity by monitoring the reporter gene. On the other hand, identification and characterization of various promoters not only benefit the functional annotation of their genes but also provide alternative candidates to be used to drive interesting genes for plant genetic improvement by transgenesis. More than 1,000 putative pollen-specific rice genes have been identified in a genome-wide level. Among them, 67 highly expressed genes were further characterized. One of the pollen-specific genes LOC&#95;Os10g35930 was further surveyed in its expression patterns with more details by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. Finally, its promoter activity was further investigated by analyzing transgenic rice plants carrying the promoter::GFP cassette, which was constructed from the newly developed T-vector. The reporter GFP gene expression in these transgenic plants showed that the promoter was active only in mature but not in germinated pollens.

Background: Biological scientists have long sought after understanding how genes and their structural/functional changes contribute to morphological diversity. Though both grain (BT×623) and sweet (Keller) sorghum lines originated from the same species Sorghum bicolor L., they exhibit obvious phenotypic variations. However, the genome re-sequencing data revealed that they exhibited limited functional diversity in their encoding genes in a genome-wide level. The result raises the question how the obvious morphological variations between grain and sweet sorghum occurred in a relatively short evolutionary or domesticated period., Results: We implemented an integrative approach by using computational and experimental analyses to provide a detail insight into phenotypic, genetic variation and expression diversity between BT×623 and Keller lines. We have investigated genome-wide expression divergence between BT×623 and Keller under normal and sucrose treatment. Through the data analysis, we detected more than 3,000 differentially expressed genes between these two varieties. Such expression divergence was partially contributed by differential cis-regulatory elements or DNA methylation, which was genetically determined by functionally divergent genes between these two varieties. Both tandem and segmental duplication played important roles in the genome evolution and expression divergence., Conclusion: Substantial differences in gene expression patterns between these two varieties have been observed. Such an expression divergence is genetically determined by the divergence in genome level.

Objective: To investigate the cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of methanolic extract of S. grandiflora flowers using different cell lines and viruses., Methods: The methanolic flower extracts were prepared and evaluated for their antiviral and cytotoxic activities using viruses like herpes simplex-1 and 2, vaccinia, vesicular stomatitis, cox sackie, respiratory syncytical, feline corona, feline herpes, para influenza, reo-1, sindbis and punta toro viruses in different cell lines, like Hel, HeLa, Crandell Reus feline kidney and Vero cell cultures., Results: Among the viruses used the extract possessed strongest antiviral activity against herpes simplex 1 and 2, repiratory syncytical, para influenza, reo, sindbis, cox sackie and punta toro viruses that was (EC 50 =20 μg/mL and 45 μg/mL) and moderate activity for remaining viruses (EC 50 = 100 μg/mL). The antiviral activities assessed by calculating the selectivity index may be due to the presence of flavonoids in the extracts there by inhibit the virus cell fusion in the early and replication stages. The cytotoxicity effect was evaluated using MTT assay and the results revealed that the extracts exhibited cytotoxicity from the range of 20 to 100 μg/mL., Conclusions: Present results confirmed that the S. grandiflora used as a good antimicrobial agent in future., (© 2012 Asian Pacific Tropical Biomedical Magazine.)

Plant bZIP transcription factors play crucial roles in multiple biological processes. However, little is known about the sorghum bZIP gene family although the sorghum genome has been completely sequenced. In this study, we have carried out a genome-wide identification and characterization of this gene family in sorghum. Our data show that the genome encodes at least 92 bZIP transcription factors. These bZIP genes have been expanded mainly by segmental duplication. Such an expansion mechanism has also been observed in rice, arabidopsis and many other plant organisms, suggesting a common expansion mode of this gene family in plants. Further investigation shows that most of the bZIP members have been present in the most recent common ancestor of sorghum and rice and the major expansion would occur before the sorghum-rice split era. Although these bZIP genes have been duplicated with a long history, they exhibited limited functional divergence as shown by nonsynonymous substitutions (Ka)/synonymous substitutions (Ks) analyses. Their retention was mainly due to the high percentages of expression divergence. Our data also showed that this gene family might play a role in multiple developmental stages and tissues and might be regarded as important regulators of various abiotic stresses and sugar signaling., (© 2011 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) exist in various eukaryotes and function in detoxification of xenobiotics and in response to abiotic and biotic stresses. We have carried out a genome-wide survey of this gene family in 10 plant genomes. Our data show that tandem duplication has been regarded as the major expansion mechanism and both monocot and dicot plants may have practiced different expansion and evolutionary history. Non-synonymous substitutions per site (Ka) and synonymous substitutions per site (Ks) analyses showed that N- and C-terminal functional domains of GSTs (GST&#95;N and GST&#95;C) seem to have evolved under a strong purifying selection (Ka/Ks < 1) under different selective pressures. Differential evolutionary rates between GST&#95;N and GST&#95;C and high degree of expression divergence have been regarded as the major drivers for the retention of duplicated genes and the adaptability to various stresses. Expression profiling also indicated that the gene family plays a role not only in stress-related biological processes but also in the sugar-signalling pathway. Our survey provides additional annotation of the plant GST gene family and advance the understanding of plant GSTs in lineage-specific expansion and species diversification.

Flavonoids which were reported as having many pharmacological activities, antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic, chemoprevention activities and they possess strong antiproliferative effects related to inhibition of cell cycle progression and apoptosis induction. On the basis of this Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol. Ex Correa (Family-Malvaceae) was selected and it is having the major composition of flavonoids and the antibacterial activity of methanolic extract of Thespesia populnea flowers was investigated by agar well diffusion method. Furthermore our phytochemical studies indicated that methanolic extract of Thespesia populnea flowers contains flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and anthroquinone glycosides. Moreover the individual components were identified by thin layer chromatography and Rf value was compared with standard flavonoid quercetin. The total phenolic and flavonoid content studies were also quantified. The bacteria used for antibacterial study were Shigella flexneri (NCIM 4924), Rhodococcus terrae (NCIM 5126), Escherichiae coli (ATCC 11775), Streptococcus faecalis (NCIB 2406), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 13883),Brevibacterium luteum (NCIM 2923), Micrococcus flavum (NCIM 2376), Proteus mirabilis (NCIB 8268), Bacillus licheniformis (NCIM 2468), Micrococcus luteus (ATCC 2984), Flavobacterium devorans (NCIM 2581), Shigella sonei(ATCC 29930), Shigella boydii (ATCC 8700) and Shigella dysentriae (ATCC 13313).According to our results in the lowest tested concentration of 62.5 microg/ml and 125mug/ml 7.2% of the plant extract were active, 5% active in the concentration of 250 microg/ml, 75.7% active in the concentration of 500 microg/ml and 92.8% active at the concentration of 1000 microg/ml in a dose dependent manner.

The current practice of ingesting phytochemicals to support the immune system or to fight infections is based on centuries-old tradition. We review reports on seven Chinese herbs, (Aloe vera Mill. (Aloaceae), Angelica species (Umbelliferae), Astragalus membranaceus Bunge. (Leguminosae), Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst. (Ganodermataceae), Panax ginseng C.A Mey. (Araliaceae), Scutellaria species (Lamiaceae) and Zingiber officinale Rosc. (Zingiberaceae) with emphasis to their immunomodulatory and antimicrobial activities. While some of these herbaceous plants have a direct inhibitory effect on microbial organisms, we observe that each plant has at least one compound that selectively modulates cells of the immune system. The successful derivation of pure bioactive compounds from Ganoderma lucidum, ginseng and Zingiber officinale supports the traditional practice of using these plants to stimulate the immune system. As many modern drugs are often patterned after phytochemicals, studying the influence of each compound on immune cells as well as microbes can provide useful insights to the development of potentially useful new pharmacological agents.