Search

Glyphosate is an active ingredient in herbicides. Exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides has been associated with respiratory dysfunctions in agricultural workers. The ability of inhaled glyphosate to induce lung inflammation is not well understood. Further, the role of adhesion molecules in glyphosate-induced lung inflammation has not been studied. We evaluated lung inflammatory responses from single and repeated glyphosate exposures. Male C57BL/6 mice were intranasally exposed to glyphosate (1 μg/40 μL) for 1 day or once daily for 5 days or 10 days. Lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were collected and analyzed. Repeated exposure to glyphosate for 5 days and 10 days resulted in an increase in neutrophils in BAL fluid and higher eosinophil peroxidase levels in lungs, with leukocyte infiltration further confirmed through lung histology. Repetitive exposure to glyphosate increased IL-33 and Th2 cytokines IL-5 and IL-13. A single glyphosate treatment revealed expression for ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and vWF adhesion molecules in the perivascular region of lung sections; with repeated treatment (5 and 10 days), adhesion molecule expression was found in the perivascular, peribronchiolar, and alveolar regions of the lungs. Repetitive exposure to glyphosate induced cellular inflammation in which adhesion molecules may be important to the lung inflammatory process.

With Indian pesticide industry touching new heights each year in terms of production and sale, its ill effects on health cannot just be ignored. Humans, as well as animals, are under the constant threat of being exposed to environmental pollutants like endotoxins and pesticides which are present ubiquitously in our surroundings. Phenylpyrazoles like fipronil were introduced into the Indian market with an aim to oversee the menace of insecticide resistance and public health hazards experienced with more commonly used pesticide but its adverse effects on the pulmonary system are now being reported globally. We reported first data that the Planar cell Polarity (PCP) pathway was the top dysregulated pathway during fipronil induced lung damage. In order to further elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms, we analysed the data generated by gene expression profiling in lung tissues using biocomputational approaches. We found Eicosanoid signalling as one of the top enriched pathways dysregulated during fipronil and or endotoxin-induced lung inflammation. Global view of genes showed Pla2g5 as top differentially expressed gene with 1.6, 3.9, 1.2, 3.1 and 4.3-folds expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS), high dose of fipronil (9.5mg/kg) alone or in combination with LPS and low dose of fipronil (4.75 mg/kg) alone or in combination with LPS, respectively which was validated using qPCR and immunohistochemistry. The data suggest a role Pla2g5 to activate eicosanoid signalling in fipronil and or LPS induced lung inflammation in mice.

CXCR1 (Interleukin-8 Receptor A) is one of the two high-affinity receptors (IL-8RA and IL-8RB), present on the surface of neutrophils that binds to the IL-8 ligand, which results in the activation of immune response and allows the migration of immune cells to the site of inflammation. CXCR1 is strongly associated with inflammatory responses against most of the Gram-negative bacteria. The objective of the present work was to amplify, sequence and in silico characterize CXCR1 coding region of buffalo. The amplified target gene of buffalo CXCR1 was custom-sequenced, and the annotated sequence of 1130 bp having coding region of 1083 bp was submitted to DDBJ with accession number LC384988. Pairwise sequence alignment of buffalo CXCR1 and the reference cattle CXCR1 showed 95% similarity. Sequence analysis and integrative analysis of CXCR1 in 36 divergent species revealed that 7 codon positions have undergone positive selection pressure, indicating that the gene has undergone evolutionary changes over the period of time. Evolutionary analysis of the CXCR1 (MEGA 6 and Datamonkey online server) revealed that ruminant, avian, fish CXCR1 formed different clusters within the phylogenetic tree, showing evolutionary divergence.

Background MicroRNA isoforms are the variants of a canonical miRNA-sequence with alteration at the 3` or 5` termini due to addition, deletion and/or substitution of nucleotide. The present study aims at identifying the isomiRs of the expressed miRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of diseased vis-à-vis healthy buffaloes, vis-à-vis exploring the molecular pathways of the predicted target genes of the isomiRs/miRNAs. Four groups of experimental animals (adult, male or female) were included in the study: a) Brucellosis (Murrah breed), b) Paratuberculosis or Johne’s disease (Murrah breed); c) Brucellosis (Nili-Ravi breed) and d) control group of healthy buffaloes of the Murrah breed. The small RNA (sRNA) samples, extracted from PBMCs of each of the four groups, pooled into four samples and then were subjected to next-generation sequencing (Ion-Torrent PGM™ platform). Results The NGS data were analyzed using the miRanalyzer tool and R-programming to identify the differentially expressed (up and down-regulated (fold change ratio > 2)) miRNAs (exhibiting isomiRs and uniquely expressed miRNAs having isomiRs) of each of the three disease-groups as compared to the healthy-Murrah group. The target genes of these selected differentially and uniquely expressed miRNA & isomiRs were predicted using three different online tools (TargetScan, PicTar, and miRDB). These target genes were analyzed to determine their role in systems biology. We identified 153, 125 and 139 isomiR-exhibiting miRNAs that were common in those three experimental groups (healthy vs. Brucellosis-Murrah, Johne’s disease-Murrah, and Brucellosis-Nili-Ravi, respectively). Gene ontology and pathway analyses of the target genes (Panther classification system) yielded several biological hits. Functional classification of the target genes indicated that these target genes were involved in different systems biology related functions like molecular binding, enzyme modulation, signal modulation, etc. The specificity of function was varying in the three experimental groups. Conclusion We are presenting the first report on the identification of isomiRs and functional classification of the target genes in water buffaloes. The results revealed that isomiRs may be involved in the biological processes and can be used in disease diagnosis.

Background and Aim: The glucocorticoid dexamethasone in a bolus dose of 8-10 mg followed by quarterly dose of 4 mg is commonly used during intracranial surgery so as to reduce oedema and vascular permeability. However, the detrimental hyperglycaemic effects of dexamethasone may override its potentially beneficial effects. The present prospective, randomised study aimed at comparing the degree and magnitude of hyperglycaemia induced by prophylactic administration of dexamethasone in patients undergoing elective craniotomy. Materials and Methods: Sixty American Society of Anaesthesiologist (ASA) grade-I and II patients were randomly assigned to three groups of 20 patients each. Group-I received dexamethasone during surgery for the first time. Group-II received dexamethasone in addition to receiving it pre-operatively, whereas Group-III (control group) patients were administered normal saline as placebo. Baseline blood glucose (BG) was measured in all the three groups before induction of anaesthesia and thereafter after every hour for 4 h and then two-hourly. Besides intra- and intergroup comparison of BG, peak BG concentration was also recorded for each patient. Statistical analysis was carried out with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student's t-test and value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Baseline BG reading were higher and statistically significant in Group-II as compared with Group-I and Group-III (P < 0.05). However, peak BG levels were significantly higher in Group-I than in Group-II and III (P < 0.05). Similarly, the magnitude of change in peak BG was significantly higher in Group-I as compared to Group-II and III (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Peri-operative administration of dexamethasone during neurosurgical procedures can cause significant increase in BG concentration especially in patients who receive dexamethasone intra-operatively only.

Background: Childhood pneumonia is a global health problem .It the leading cause of death for children under the age of five years. 95% of all pneumonia cases under the age of five occurs in developing countries. Asthma remains the most common chronic disease of childhood in the world. The observation that vitamin D deficiency and asthma share risk factors such as urban residence, obesity and African American ethnicity has generated interest in exploring a link between these two conditions. This study was taken up to assess the role of vitamin D as a predictor of pneumonia and asthma in children less than 5 years of age.Methods: A prospective observational case control study was conducted in MLB Medical college, Jhansi from January 2015 to December 2016 (1 year 11 months). A total of 60 children including 30 asthma cases, 20 pneumonia cases and 10 controls, aged, 6-60 months were enrolled. Controls were healthy children attending outpatient services for immunization.Results: The mean age of the pneumonia patient was 1.5 years, while mean age in asthma patients was 3.1yrs. Ratio of male and female in pneumonia cases was1.5:1, while is asthma ratio was 2:1. In our study 45% pneumonia cases had deficient level of vitamin D (

Background and Aim: Induced hypotension limits intra-operative blood loss to provide better visibility of the surgical field and diminishes the incidence of major complications during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). We aimed at comparing nitroglycerine, esmolol and dexmedetomidine for inducing controlled hypotension in patients undergoing FESS. Material and Methods: One hundred and fifty American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II adult patients undergoing FESS under general anesthesia were randomly allocated to three groups of 50 patients each. Group E received esmolol in a loading and maintenance dose of 1 mg/kg over 1 min and 0.5-1.0 mg/kg/h, respectively. Group D received a loading dose of dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg over 10 min followed by an infusion 0.5-1.0 μg/kg/h, and group N received nitroglycerine infusion at a dose of 0.5-2 μg/kg/min so as to maintain mean arterial pressure (MAP) between 60 and 70 mmHg in all the groups. The visibility of the surgical field was assessed by surgeon using Fromme and Boezaart scoring system. Hemodynamic variables, total intra-operative fentanyl consumption, emergence time and time to first analgesic request were recorded. Any side-effects were noted. The postoperative sedation was assessed using Ramsay Sedation Score. Result: The desired MAP (60-70 mmHg) could be achieved in all the three study groups albeit with titration of study drugs during intra-operative period. No significant intergroup difference was observed in Fromme′s score during the intra-operative period. The mean total dose of fentanyl (μg/kg) used was found to be significantly lower in group D compared to groups E and N (1.2 ± 0.75 vs. 3.6 ± 1.3 and 2.9 ± 1.1 respectively). The mean heart rate was significantly lower in group D compared to groups E and N at all times of measurement (P < 0.05). The MAP was found to be significantly lower in group D compared to groups E and N after infusion of study drugs, after induction, just after intubation and 5 min after intubation (P < 0.05). The Ramsay Sedation Scores were significantly higher in group D (score 3 in 46%) when compared to group E (score 2 in 50%) and group N (score 2 in 54%) (P < 0.001). The emergence time was significantly lower in group E and group N compared to group D. Time to first analgesic request was significantly longer in group D. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine and esmolol provided better hemodynamic stability and operative field visibility compared to nitroglycerin during FESS. Dexmedetomidine provides an additional benefit of reducing the analgesic requirements and providing postoperative sedation.

A transducer format that replaces the electrode of an acoustic resonator with a planar spiral coil is used to extract multifrequency spectral information from adsorbed protein films. Both amorphous silica and crystalline piezoelectric resonators are driven to resonance by forces induced across an air gap by magnetic direct generation and piezoelectric excitation induced by the electromagnetic field of the coil. Inspection of the harmonic frequencies between 6 MHz and 0.6 GHz indicates that the response of these two resonator types is described by different families of shear acoustic standing waves, with similar acoustic features to the quartz crystal microbalance. Exposure of the devices to protein solutions results in reproducible shifts of their harmonic frequencies, up to a maximum of 15 kHz and increasing linearly with frequency and operating mode. The gradient, determined from the ratio of the frequency change to the operating frequency was determined as 21.5 × 10−6 for the quartz device and 60.9 × 10−6 for the silica device. Consistency with the Sauerbrey equation for the piezoelectric linear shear mode was comparable at a predicted value of 22.5 × 10−6, but not for the radial shear mode of the silica device at 12.7 × 10−6. Opportunities resulting from the wide bandwidth of the planar coil excitation and choice of acoustic mode are discussed with respect to acoustic fingerprinting of adsorbed proteins.

This paper considers the propagation of high frequency 0.1–2.6 GHz surface acoustic wave pulses in aqueous solutions of pure water, glycerol and protein. The GHz frequency components of the pulse are used to provide the highest operating frequencies so far reported and also to construct the first acoustic absorption spectrum associated with the evanescent field. Acoustic generation is sourced from a single non-linear SAW device that provides a series of harmonic frequencies, simultaneously. The received power level is determined from digital samples of the received pulse waveform. The power leaked into glycerol solutions at the fundamental frequency was found to be 50% smaller for pulses, than for continuous acoustic waves, an effect that could be related to the equilibration of the evanescent field. Increasing the concentration of the glycerol solutions or time exposed to the protein (IgG) solution, showed that the power losses from the surface acoustic wave pulse were broadly consistent with the behaviour of transverse shear mode sensors. Atomic force microscope measurements of the bare device revealed that the morphology of the silica overlayer was uniformly granular, whereas adsorbed protein films formed non-contiguous islands. Confirmation of the presence of the IgG film was obtained from quantitative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. An 8 gigasample per second digitising oscilloscope running a fast Fourier transform routine captured the acoustic absorption spectrum, and revealed a smooth characteristic for the glycerol and IgG, although for the latter, frequencies beyond 500 MHz were associated with an irregular spectrum. These multiple frequency measurements of the solid–liquid interface provide evidence that when the penetration depth and film thickness are similar, disruption of the predicted exponential form of the evanescent wave occurs, as indicated by the fluctuations seen in the absorption spectrum recorded. These preliminary results have shown that multiple frequency operation of single non-linear SH-SAW devices is possible, and an evanescent interfacial absorption spectrum can be obtained. By extending the measurement technique it may be possible to obtain additional information about the structure and composition of the solid–liquid interface.

Pulses of acoustic energy that are propagating in a normal linear material have a tendency for their profile to flatten and broaden, becoming depleted and ill-defined in form; in contrast, nonlinear materials narrow the profile of the pulse envelope. However, provided there is sufficient energy in the pulse, propagation in a nonlinear and dispersive material allows these opposing wave characteristics to cancel each other out, so that a persistent packet of energy known as a solitary wave or soliton can form. Here, we provide experimental evidence for the existence of acoustic solitons and describe the instrumentation, transducers, material conditions, and appropriate solitary wave test for acoustic pulses. Our key contribution was the use of acoustic chirp profiling for verifying the formation of acoustic solitary waves over the short path lengths necessary for a practical demonstration.

A tunable acoustic biosensor for investigating the properties of biomolecules at the solid–liquid interfaces is described. In its current, format the device can be tuned to frequencies between 6.5 MHz and 1.1 GHz in order to provide a unique detection feature: a variable evanescent wave thickness at the sensor surface. The key to its successful implementation required the careful selection of antennae designs that could induce shear acoustic waves at the solid–liquid interface. This non-contact format makes it possible to recover resonant shear acoustic waves over 100 different harmonic frequencies as a result of the electrical characteristics of the spiral coil. For testing this multifrequency sensing concept the surface of a quartz disc was exposed to solutions of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to form an adsorbed monolayer, whence protein A and IgG were added again in order to form multilayers. Spectra at frequencies between 6 and 600 MHz were generated for each successive layer and revealed two characteristic phases: an initial phase at the low megahertz frequencies consistent with the conventional Sauerbrey relation, and a possible additional phase towards the high megahertz to gigahertz frequencies, that we believe relates to the structure of the biomolecular film. This two-phase behaviour evident from differences between high and low frequencies, rather than from any distinct frequency transition, was anticipated from the reduction in evanescent wave thickness down to nanometre dimensions, and thin film resonance phenomena that are known to occur for film and fluid systems. These measurements suggested that the single element acoustic biosensor we present here may form the basis from which to generate acoustic molecular spectra, or ‘acoustic fingerprints’, in a manner akin to optical spectroscopy. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A measurement technique similar to optical absorption spectroscopy but based on evanescent acoustic waves is described in this paper. This format employs a planar spiral coil to vibrate a single crystal of quartz from 6 to 400 MHz, in order to measure multifrequency acoustic spectra. Consistency with the defined Sauerbrey and Kanazawa terms K1 and K2 when applied to multiple frequencies was found for these specific operating conditions in terms of a significant fit between the measured and calculated values: For an IgG surface density of 13.5 ng mm(-2) the measured value of K1 is 22.5 x 10(-6) and the calculated value is 20.4 x 10(-6), whilst for glycerol viscous loadings of 5.131 cP the measured value of K2 is 0.47 and the calculated value is 0.54. Thus for these specific surface loadings the multifrequency data fits to the predictions of the Sauerbrey model to within 10% and to Kanazawa model within 13%. However collective frequency shifts for 5.131 cP solutions of sucrose, dextran and glucose were found to exhibit an unanticipated additional variability (R20.4) with frequency, but retained a square root of frequency dependency within a factor 2 of the interpolated K2 values. The response to the 5.131 cP dextran solution was found to be significantly below the other isoviscous solutions, with a substantially reduced frequency shift and K2 value than would be expected from its bulk viscosity. In comparison with these viscous solutions, IgG protein films consistently produced linear frequency shifts with little scatter (R20.96) that were proportional to the operating frequency, and fully consistent with the Sauerbrey model under these specific conditions. A t-test value of 14.52 was calculated from the variance and mean of the two groups, and demonstrates that the acoustic spectrophonometer can be used to distinguish between the acoustic impedance characteristics of two chemical systems that are not clearly differentiable at a single operating frequency.

A planar spiral coil has been used to induce hypersonic evanescent waves in a quartz substrate with the unique ability to focus the acoustic wave down onto the chemical recognition layer. These special sensing conditions were achieved by investigating the application of a radio frequency current to a coaxial waveguide and spiral coil, so that wideband repeating electrical resonance conditions could be established over the MHz to GHz frequency range. At a selected operating frequency of 1.09 GHz, the evanescent wave depth of a quartz crystal hypersonic resonance is reduced to 17 nm, minimising unwanted coupling to the bulk fluid. Verification of the validity of the hypersonic resonance was carried out by characterising the system electrically and acoustically: Impedance calculations of the combined coil and coaxial waveguide demonstrated an excellent fit to the measured data, although above 400 MHz a transition zone was identified where unwanted impedance is parasitic of the coil influence efficiency, so the signal-to-noise ratio is reduced from 3000 to 300. Acoustic quartz crystal resonances at intervals of precisely 13.2138 MHz spacing, from the 6.6 MHz ultrasonic range and onto the desired hypersonic range above 1 GHz, were incrementally detected. Q factor measurements demonstrated that reductions in energy lost from the resonator to the fluid interface were consistent with the anticipated shrinkage of the evanescent wave with increasing operating frequency. Amplitude and frequency reduction in contact with a glucose solution was demonstrated at 1.09 GHz. The complex physical conditions arising at the solid-liquid interface under hypersonic entrainment are discussed with respect to acceleration induced slippage, rupture, longitudinal and shear radiation and multiphase relaxation affects.

Electrolytic deposition processes from molten salt baths, i.e. metalliding and electroplating, for coating metal or alloy substrates are described. An outline of the general experimental techniques employed in molten salts and the influence of various factors such as impurities, cation valency, nature of the solvent, stability of complex ions, temperature, current density, kinetics, and additives, on the electrolytic processes are discussed. A review of the current status of electrodeposited coatings from molten salts, with special reference to diffusion coatings on metal and alloy surfaces, is presented. The available physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the coatings thus formed and their applications are summarized. Some suggestions are made to show the directions in which further research in this field is necessary.

Localized regions of calcium were shown to change in clover root hair cells after infection withRhizobium trifolii as shown with the Ca++ binding antibiotic, chlorotetracycline. Some root hairs from the immature zone showed increased calcium fluorescence distributed through most of the cell. These root hair had a morphology with a notched side wall, typical of cells infected by bacteria. The maturing root hairs that show a growing infection thread or start of an infection thread, have a similar increased calcium fluorescence, especially around the area of origin of infection thread and tip of the root hair cell.

Blood sugar determinations were carried out on 50 pairs of twins before the initiation of first feeds. The mean blood sugar values of 36.69±14.03 mg/dl were observed. Blood sugar values had a definite correlation with birth weight and gestational age, significantly higher values were observed in infants weighing 2250 gm had above and having a gestational age of over 37 weeks. The mean sugar values did not differ between the larger and smaller twin in the 2 groups less than 25 percent discordant, nor were the values influenced by birth order or sex of these infants. Significant hypoglycemia (blood sugar

The histochemical studies were carried out in the open and closed stomata of Phaseolus mungo leaves. Several enzymes like, Acid phospatase peroxidase, succinic dehydrogenase, phosphorylase, alkaline phosphatase, ATP-ase etc. were localized in the guard and subsidiary cells of epidermal peel. On the basis of cytochemical localization, enzyme activity was precisely interpreted. In the light of fluctuations in the localization, activities of different enzymes, an attempt is made to provide the functional interpretation of stomatal mechanism. We have attempted to correlat our observations in relation to diurnal metabolisms. Our studies suggest that starch-sugar inter-changes played a vital role in the stomatal regulation. We are also inclined to believe that besides guard cells, subsidiary cells also influenced the turgid conditions. A model based on available facts in collaboration with our own studies is presented which tends to explain the stomatal regulation.

In the present investigations, the localization of several enzymes (Acid Phosphatase, Peroxidase, succinic dehydrogenase, Phosphorylase, alkaline phosphatase, ATP-ase) and other substances in the guard and subsidiary cells as well as trichomes of the leaves of Phaseolus mungo, was carried out. Attempts were also made to follow the sequence of developmental stages starting with meristemoids and culminating in differentiated structures. The basic information thus obtained is used in interpreting the developmental physiology of stomatal differentiation as well as their cellular organisation. Histochemical observations made in the present studies are compared with the electron microscopical observations of Whatley (1972). It is proposed that mitochondria played a basic role in the functioning of the guard cells. The present studies also demonstrated activity of acid phosphatase in the guard cells and was localized in spherosomes. The latter varied in the activity for acid phosphatase and was dependent on the turgid level of the cell. Interestingly, enough localization of phosphatase could only be observed in spherosomes when the osmotic pressure in the cell was relatively low, once the osmotic pressure increased, the activity disappeared.

Using histochemical techniques the presence of phosphorylase in the guard cells and subsidiary cells of Phaseolus mungo leaf has been demonstrated. The intensity of reaction is intense in the material collected at night while during the day collected leaves, both chloroplastic and cytoplasmic starch was absent. The functional significance of chloroplastic starch in the subsidiary cells in relation to the stomatal mechanism is discussed.