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Gliotoxin is a potent antibiotic showing antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic fungi. It is produced by Q strains of Trichoderma virens and gliotoxin non-producing strains of T. virens are designated as P strains. There is no detailed study on effect of gliotoxin on suppression of damping off of tomato caused by Pythium aphanidermatum and its phytotoxicity effect on tomato plants. Thus, the present study was carried out to assess the effect of gliotoxin on inhibition of mycelial growth of P. aphanidermatum, its phytotoxicity effect on tomato and its role on the suppression of damping off of tomato. Culture filtrates of Q strains of T. virens containing gliotoxin highly inhibited the mycelial growth of P. aphanidermatum compared to that of P strains of T. virens. Purified gliotoxin but not bis-thiomethyl gliotoxin effectively inhibited the mycelial growth of P. aphanidermatum. Tomato seeds treated with purified gliotoxin did not inhibit the germination of seeds, its root and shoot length even at higher concentration that is at 1000 ppm (fivefold inhibitory concentration against P. aphanidermatum). Foliar spray of gliotoxin on tomato plants did not show any phytotoxic effect at lower concentration but showed scorching effect at higher concentration. Seed treatment with gliotoxin producing Q strains of T. virens showed greater suppression of damping-off tomato compared to P strains of T. virens. This study clearly showed that gliotoxin producing T. virens could be used in suppression of damping-off disease incidence in tomato.

The sudden onset on Covid-19 Pandemic has made the teaching community to shift to the e-learning delivery in order to continue teaching students who cannot join the campus and probably at home. The impact of online learning has its own strategies while execution and has will have an impact later when physical classes are conducted in the form of blended learning. The main objective of this paper is to identify the key aspects of e learning in the continuous education process and the pros and cons it will have on the shorter and the longer terms.

The Aloe Vera nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by using Zinc sulfate via Photon Induced Method (PIM). A novel green and eco-friendly technique are reported in this paper using Zinc doped Aloe Vera plant extract for Zn-AV NPs. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report the synthesis of Zn doped Aloe Vera nanostructures for visible-light photocatalyst. The synthesized Zn doped AV NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The structure formation of Zn-AV NPs and crystallite size 22 nm was confirmed by XRD studies. FT-IR spectra showed the presence of functional groups and protein as the stabilizing agent surrounding the Aloe Vera nanoparticles. The formation of the AV NPs phase was also confirmed by FT-IR. The optical properties were determined by DRS was observed that the bandgap Zn doped AV NPs (2.5 eV) had a degreased band gap than that of pure zinc oxide (3.37 eV), which can be assigned to the visible light absorption of Zn-AV NPs due to the electron transitions from the valence band to the conduction band. We are reported the first time not reported anywhere. This results elucidated a fast, advanced medicine than plant-mediated nanoparticles. The green medicine has no side effect, commercially low cost and eco-friendly method of next-generation green NPs synthesis, which could be used as a potential used as a potent agent against various deadly diseases.

The limitations of the existing Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor are leading the momentum to various new approaches like Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA). QCA offers low power dissipation, less area and high switching speeds. The Majority Voter is the basic structure that votes out on the majority of the inputs to implement a Boolean Function. The QCA architectures are created by using majority gates with inverters or by using universal gates like AND–OR-Inverter and NAND–NOR-Inverter gate. This paper proposes a quantum-dot cellular automata 2 to 4 decoder using Universal Farooq-Nikesh-Zaid gate, which utilizes the NAND gate logic to implement the functionality. The design offers 33% reduction in the cell count, reduction in the area with Six Clock Phases in simple co planar wire crossing. The proposed design is validated using the QCA Designer tool.

Gliotoxin produced by Trichoderma virens is inhibitory against various phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. However, its stability in soil-ecosystem has not yet been well-defined. This study aimed to decipher its persistence and behaviour in growth media, irrigation water and soil ecosystems. Gliotoxin production was noticed at logarithmic growth phase and converted into bis-thiomethyl gliotoxin at late stationary growth phase of T. virens in acidic growth medium. But, no gliotoxin production was observed in neutral and alkaline growth medium. Gliotoxin was stable for several days in acidic water but degraded in alkaline water. Degradation of gliotoxin was more in unsterile soil than sterile soil and also that was higher under wet soil than dry soil. Degradation of gliotoxin was hastened by alkaline pH in wet soil but not in dry soil. Under unsterile soil conditions, high soil moisture increased the degradation of gliotoxin and the degradation of gliotoxin occurred quickly in alkaline soil (in 5 days) compared to acidic soil (in 10 days). Under sterile soil conditions, high soil moisture also enhanced the degradation of gliotoxin but level of degradation was less compared to unsterile conditions. Thus, gliotoxin stability is influenced mainly by the soil wetness, soil microbial community and pH conditions.

In the present study, silk sericin–monetite microcomposites (SS–MM) were prepared using a simple and cost-effective method. Hemolytic assay was performed to determine the blood compatibility of SS–MM. MTT assay was carried out using MG-63 osteoblasts, to determine the cytocompatibility and proliferative efficacy of SS–MM. Alkaline phosphatase activity was studied to examine the osteogenic potency of the prepared microcomposites. The results obtained showed that the SS–MM can be effectively used as a bone graft for tissue engineering applications.

Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is a life-saving procedure often performed to cure relapsed and difficult-to-treat malignancies. Only a handful of centers in India were initially involved in the delivery of these services. However, in the last decade, more than 100 centers in the private and public domain have started offering transplant services in the country. Moreover, there are funding options, which has opened up this expensive treatment options for economically backward patients. Costs apart, there are multiple social, familial, and emotional challenges faced by these patients. A multidisciplinary support team involving social workers, psychologists, and transplant nurses, besides the treating hematologist/oncologist, is required for the optimum care of these patients. These challenges, in the Indian context, are often unique. Unfortunately, there is limited information and resource available to guide counseling of patients planned for HSCT in India. We conducted a workshop at our center where a panel of experts with experience in dealing with patients undergoing HSCT discussed issues faced by them. These discussions constitute a valuable resource for counseling patients planned for HSCT. They were transcribed by a postgraduate doctor and are summarised here in a case-based format.

Eco friendly bags are the products which are being reused and recycled. Environment is filled with lot of green marketers and some green products alternative to other plastics products. The exact emphasis is to examine the awareness regarding the eco affability and implementation of eco bags. In addition the researcher also tried to study the level of Awareness regarding eco bags, Environment Friendliness, Motivational Programs, Government Policies, Waste Management and the level of Education. The primary data required for the study was collected using questionnaire from 150 respondents of Coimbatore city. To assess the survey Frequency Analysis, Chi square Analysis and Descriptive Statistics is used. Result of the analysis concealed that the benefits of eco bags like reusable, reduce less wastage and anywhere capable were strongly agreed by the respondents and are aware about the impacts of plastic bags like Improper disposal, Longer decomposition, Danger to Animals and Birds life, Affect human health, Global warming and Climate change, Species of Marine life and Increase Risk of flood.

Trichoderma virens produces gliotoxin and it is considered as a potent antibiotic against several soil-borne fungal and bacterial pathogens infecting crop plants. There is no study on the fate of gliotoxin especially its persistence in soil and crop plants. For precise analysis of its persistence, dissipation and movement of gliotoxin in soil ecosystem, it is important to find a suitable solvent that effectively extract the gliotoxin from soil and crop plant. In this study, various commonly used polar and non-polar solvents were assessed for their efficiency on extraction of gliotoxin from agricultural soil, farm yard manure (FYM), coir pith, tomato plants and from the mycelial mat of T. virens. Chloroform was found to be the effective solvent for the extraction of gliotoxin from soil, FYM and coir pith with extraction efficiency of 85%, 79% and 72%, respectively. Ethyl acetate extracted the maximum amount of gliotoxin from tomato leaves and roots with 79% and 72% extraction efficiency. Methanol effectively extracted gliotoxin from the mycelium of T. virens. From this study, it is concluded that chloroform and ethyl acetate are suitable for the extraction and detection of gliotoxin from the soil ecosystem and crop plants, respectively.

As the device density of the existing complementary metal oxide semiconductor keeps on increasing to reach its limitations, there is a need for alternative technologies to the existing technology. One such is the quantum dot cellular automata which performs all the operations performed by the CMOS technology. Moreover, it utilizes very low power, less area and high switching speeds. This paper proposes the design and analysis of potentially implementable configurable logic block in quantum dot cellular automata for nanoelectronic device architecture. The proposed design utilizes coplanar wire crossing with five-input majority voter for decoder along with the memory loop for storing the information. The proposed design is validated using the QCA designer tool.

Self medication is one of the major reasons for the irrational use of medicines. Globally, self medication practices are more frequently observed for the Over The Counter (OTC) medicines (WHO, 1998). OTC drugs are drugs that do NOT require a doctor\'s prescription, bought off-the-shelf in stores and regulated by FDA through OTC Drug monographs (FDA, 2018). The research design used for this study was True experimental – repeated measures design. 100 adults were selected based on inclusive criteria (experimental group-50 and control group-50) through probability Two stage cluster sampling technique. The pretest was conducted with the help of structured interview schedule to assess the knowledge and attitude in both group. After pretest IEC package on awareness of OTC drugs was provided in experimental group through Lecture cum discussion for 10 persons in each group followed by post test was conducted. The result showed that the effect of IEC package on level of knowledge in experimental group was F (2, 147) = 261.24, p = .000 and in control group was F (2, 147) = 1.02, p = .360 and level of attitude in experimental group was F (2, 147) = 551.21, p = .000 and in control group was F (2, 147) = 2.76, p = .066. There was significant difference between the pretest & posttest level of knowledge and attitude among adults in the experimental and control group. The study concluded that a significant number of adults are unaware of the adverse effects of the medication that they themselves take and suggest to others. Potential problems of inappropriate use of OTC drugs should be emphasized by using IEC package to minimize the risk.

Herein, we have reported a new Photon Induced Method (PIM) to the synthesis of enhanced temperature stable anatase phased TiO2 nanoparticles. These TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited an anatase phase even after calcinating at 800 °C for average crystallite size is 9 nm with a bandgap is 2.98 eV, stretching into the visible light region are identified from DRS, and photoluminescence spectroscopic studies. Whereas, the standard and others reported TiO2 has existed a 100% rutile phase at this same temperature. The reversibly improved TiO2 has attained from the PIM method by tuning of oxygen vacancy during the preparation condition. The enhanced methylene blue dye under in the solar-light 100% degradation within 10 min is a very novel report, not reported elsewhere. The obtained pure anatase TiO2 with high chemical reactivity has a great potential for antibacterial, cancer cells kill, photocatalysis and solar energy conversion applications under solar-light irradiation.

Polymer hybrids have become a major area of research and development owing to the remarkable properties and multifunctional behaviour deriving from their nanocomposite/nanohybrid structure. In this class, magnetic polymer nanocomposite are of special interest because of the combination of excellent magnetic properties, high specific area, surface active sites, high chemical stability and good biocompatibility. The present communication primarily concentrates on the investigation of structural characterization of alginate–cobalt ferrite nanocomposite (CoFe2O4–ANa NC) prepared by ex situ polymerization method. The structural and morphological properties of CoFe2O4–ANa NC were analysed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering. The specific surface area of the nanocomposite was analysed using BET surface area analysis. The functional group and the thermal stability were examined using FTIR and TGA/DTA respectively. The characterization results have pointed out the successful role of sodium alginate in stabilizing cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CoFe2O4 NP). The SEM and TEM images revealed the well interspersed state of cobalt ferrite with sodium alginate. It is obvious to note the increased size and the specific surface area for CoFe2O4 nanocomposite.

The present research focusses on analysis of defects and the framework for testing the reversible decoder constructed using quantum dot cellular automata circuits. Quantum dot cellular automata has been one of the paradigms shifts from the conventional complementary metal oxide field effect transistor. This paper focuses on the modeling of struck at faults that possibly occurs in a circuit other than the fabrication defects. The struck at faults are modeled considering the inverter and the majority voter. We have also created a model for the flow of signal on the reversible decoder using quantum dot cellular automata. The design analyses the percentage of fault occurrence for the decoder constructed using reversible QCA2 Gate. The model is simulated using QCA Designer tool.

The present work primarily contemplates the entrapment of carbon nanotubes (CNT) as nano-filler into chitosan hydrogel beads using the phase inversion method in order to improve thermal stability and chemical resistance. The structural, functional and thermal properties of carbon nanotube entrapped chitosan hydrogel beads (CNTCB) are explored. The XRD pattern and Raman measurements confirm the graphitic nature of the CNT and its structural changes in the case of CNTCB. The SEM, TEM and AFM measurements reveal the successful entrapment of CNT in chitosan hydrogel beads. The FTIR studies and TGA/DTA analysis further support its improved chemical resistance and enhanced thermal stability after the entrapment.

The performance of Alginate - Cobalt ferrite (ACF) in a fixed bed column was assessed for the simultaneous removal of binary dyes from textile effluent. The binary dye effluent containing 32.5 mg/L of reactive red 195 (RR195) and 21 mg/L of reactive yellow 145 (RY145) was used for the study. The effect of various parameters like bed depth (3, 6, 9 and 12 cm) and flow rate of influent (5, 7.5 and 10 mL/min) for the binary adsorption using ACF was studied. The results revealed that ACF bed capacity and maximum adsorption capacity showed an increasing trend with an increased bed depth and decreased flow rate. Dynamic modeling such as Yoon - Nelson model, Thomas model and Bed Depth Service Time model (BDST) were evaluated with the experimental data. Comparatively, Yoon - Nelson and Thomas model presented better fitness for the elimination of RR195 and RY145 dye. The experimental data from dynamic studies revealed ACF's effectiveness for the sequestration of binary dyes from textile effluent.

Background: Home-based palliative services form the cornerstone of Kerala's palliative program. However, two issues need research: (a) whether family-homes can be considered as the locus of ageing and dying for marginal populations who experience deprivation and poverty and (b) whether the present delivery structure meets the needs of elderly population. These issues are examined in the context of two rural areas. The study explores end-of-life characteristics of the elderly - their sociodemographic status and living patterns, morbidity profile, and functional status. It also looks into the accessibility and utilization of palliative services and respondents' satisfaction with different components of the services. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design is used. Data were collected based on the interviews of sixty service users sampled randomly from a roster of palliative care services. Semi-structured interviews were substantiated by personal field observations. Results: The study has found people living under extreme financial distress with inadequate shelter and poor social security provisions. The health profile is characterized by high level of functional dependence. Many dependent widowed women were living alone without appropriate care and shelter. The palliative program as perceived by the respondents is characterized by few doctor visitations and poor frequency. Conclusion: The study concludes that home-based palliation in its present form does not promote good end-of-life care. It lacks an integrated approach with good service-mix. It raises serious questions on family-home as the locus of ageing and dying for marginal populations, and suggests need for restructuring of the palliative program.

The conventional Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor faces challenges as further scaling down to the nano meter level, makes the device to exhibit Quantum mechanical effects. The technological barrier in the near future, creates space for the invention of novel design paradigms which must operate in higher Computation power and speed. Most of the novel technologies have device sizes in atomic and molecular scales. One such alternative technology is Quantum Dot Cellular Automata. Numerous work has been carried in the area of Design and synthesis of circuits using Quantum Dot cellular Automata. This paper is intended to have a theoretical study on the fabrication and implementation of Quantum Dot cellular Automata.

Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA), a transistor-less paradigm is the widely advocated new device architecture compared to the existing Complementary metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Hence conversion from the existing CMOS technology in to the QCA technology has to be done. The QCA structures are created by mapping the existing CMOS technology to the Quantum dot paradigm, which offers very low power consumption with very high speed. This paper proposes a 3-8 quantum-dot cellular automata decoder using 5-input majority gates and 3 input majority gates with enable input and the design is implemented using QCA. The design has considerable reduction in the cell count, improvement in the area and it uses co planar Wire crossing. The Proposed design is validated using the QCA Designer tool.

Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA), a transistor-less paradigm is a compeer to the existing Complementary metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The existing CMOS technology has to be mapped to quantum dot paradigm to create QCA structures that can be used to perform all the logic operations which are currently performed by the existing technology. Simple QCA structures that perform all adding and shifting operations were proposed.

Several alignment-free sequence comparison methods are available which use similarity, based on a particular numerical descriptor of biological sequences. Any loss of information incurred in the transformation of a sequence into a numerical descriptor affects the results. A pool of descriptors that use different algorithms in their computation is expected to suffer minimum loss of information and an attempt is made in this direction to study the similarity of DNA sequences. A number of descriptors based on information theory and connectivity were computed for DNA sequences. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract minimum number (N) of orthogonal descriptors, principal components (PCs). Similarity/dissimilarity clustering of DNA sequences were carried out in the N-dimensional similarity space constructed using the PCs extracted from the DNA descriptors. The paper explains the extension of quantitative molecular similarity analysis (QMSA) from the prediction of physicochemical properties and toxicity of chemicals to bioinformatics for the classification of DNA sequences.

The four-letter code sequence of a single strand of a DNA sequence was converted into a line graph, and the vertices of the line graph were assigned weights according to the dissociation constant (pKa) of the corresponding nitrogenous base represented by each of the vertices. Connectivity type indices were computed for the weighted line graphs and the numerical descriptors thus calculated were used for alignment-free sequence comparison. The numerical descriptors proposed in this study were calculated very fast even for whole genomes, and thus, the methodology enabled alignment-free comparison of long DNA sequences without much computational load. Sequence comparison using numerical descriptors derived from the weighted line graphs is illustrated using 23 mitochondrial genomic sequences. The cladogram obtained from the hierarchical clustering carried out using the numerical descriptors grouped evolutionarily similar sequences together.

Crataegus oxycantha (hawthorn) is used in herbal and homeopathic medicine as a cardiotonic. The present study was done to investigate the effect of the alcoholic extract of Crataegus oxycantha (AEC) on mitochondrial function during experimentally induced myocardial infarction in rat. AEC was administered orally to male albino rats (150-200 g), at a dosage of 0.5 ml/100 g body weight/day, for 30 days. At the end of the experimental period, the animals were administered isoproterenol (85 mg/kg body weight, s.c) for 2 days at an interval of 24 h. After 48 h, the rats were anaesthetized and sacrificed. The hearts were homogenized for biochemical and electron microscopic analysis. AEC pretreatment maintained mitochondrial antioxidant status, prevented mitochondrial lipid peroxidative damage and decrease in Kreb's cycle enzymes induced by isoproterenol in rat heart.

Most parasitic protozoa lack the de novo purine biosynthetic pathway and rely exclusively on the salvage pathway for their purine nucleotide requirements. Enzymes of the salvage pathway are, therefore, candidate drug targets. We have cloned the Plasmodium falciparum adenylosuccinate synthetase gene. In the parasite, adenylosuccinate synthetase is involved in the synthesis of AMP from IMP formed during the salvage of the purine base, hypoxanthine. The gene was shown to code for a functionally active protein by functional complementation in a purA mutant strain of Escherichia coli , H1238. This paper reports the conditions for hyperexpression of the recombinant protein in E. coli BL21(DE3) and purification of the protein to homogeneity. The enzyme was found to require the presence of dithiothreitol during the entire course of the purification for activity. Glycerol and EDTA were found to stabilize enzyme activity during storage. The specific activity of the purified protein was 1143.6 ± 36.8 mUnits/mg. The K M s for the three substrates, GTP, IMP, and aspartate, were found to be 4.8 μM, 22.8 μM, and 1.4 mM, respectively. The enzyme was a dimer on gel filtration in buffers of low ionic strength but equilibrated between a monomer and a dimer in buffers of increased ionic strength.

Tonsillitis can be complicated by a retropharyngeal abscess. It causes cervical pain, torticollis, swelling, inability to extend the neck and stridor. Throat examination is often difficult in severe trismus. In patients with tonsillitis complicated with torticollis, early imaging is important in ruling out retropharyngeal collections. A 6-year-old boy presented with a sore throat, trismus, left-sided neck swelling and pain. …

Myocardial infarction produces significant abnormal liver functioning. In the present study the hepatoprotective effect of tincture of Crataegus (TCR) in myocardially infarcted rats was investigated. The oral administration of TCR to rats for 30 days afforded good protection against isoproterenol-induced alterations in tissue marker enzymes of liver injury like alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferease, lactate dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase and in protein-bound carbohydrates like hexose, hexosamine, fucose, and sialic acid. The protective effect of TCR was further supported by the reversal of isoproterenol-induced histological changes in the liver. The results suggest that TCR, which can protect the heart and circulatory system, can also be hepatoprotective and thereby maintain the near normal architecture of liver tissue.