LARVICIDAL ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF GLIRICIDIA SEPIUM LEAF

Objective: This study focus at the larvicidal activity of essential oil of Gliricidia sepium leaf Methods: Pharmacological evaluation of leaf was carried out for larvicidal activity. Household mosquitoes of fourth instar larvae were used for the study. The study was carried out for 5 different concentrations for aqueous extract. Results: The aqueous extract shown dose-dependent activity with the maximum larvicidal potential was seen with leaf of essential oil (250 mg/ml). Conclusion: The study is designed to evaluate the larvicidal activity of essential oil of leaf of G. sepium. The relationship between the chemical composition and biological activity of essential oil of G. sepium is confirmed by lethal effect

IN VITRO HEPATOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF YELLOW LEAF EXTRACTS OF THESPESIA POPULNEA AGAINST CARBON TETRACHLORIDE INDUCED TOXICITY

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate in vitro hepatoprotective activity of yellow leaf extracts of Thespesiapopulnea. Methods: Hepatoprotective activity is studied by carbon tetrachloride-induced hepato-toxicity in isolated rat hepatocytes. The biochemical parameters observed in serum were serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT/AST), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT/ALT) levels. The extracts exhibited a dose-dependent reduction in AST, ALT levels. Results: Methanolic extract was found to exhibit higher hepatoprotection. T. populnea extract was found to be antihepatotoxic at a concentration of 125 mcg with a significant decrease in ALT (P<0.001) and AST (P<0.0001). Conclusion: The results suggest that the methanolic extract has produced significant (p<0.001) hepatoprotection by decreasing the activity of serum enzymes which is comparable to that of standard drug silymarin

EFFECT OF ACTINOMYCETES ON GROWTH OF OCIMUM SANCTUM

Objective: The study was aimed to isolate and identify Actinomycetes from rhizosphere soil of Malik deenar college of pharmacy, Kasaragod, Kerala, and to screen the plant growth promoting the activity of isolated actinomycetes on Ocimum sanctum. Methods: The Actinomycetes were isolated from rhizosphere region soil by serial dilution and pour plating method. Then they were identified to a generic level based on morphological characters, and biochemical characters. Plant growth promoting activity was screened by placing 3 sets of Ocimum sanctum seedlings in different pots and the shoot length was measured after 10 d and compared with control. Results: 19 different types of isolates were chosen based on their morphological characteristics and used for assessments of plant growth promoting activity. Among the 19 isolates, 17 isolates were identified as Streptomyces spp. And 2 were belongs to Nocardia spp. The actinomycetes isolates which belong to Streptomyces spp were shown plant growth promoting activity. Conclusion: The result of this study revealed that the rhizosphere soil has different types of actinomycetes, among these Streptomyces spp. are more abundant and common. These Streptomyces spp. have predominant activity on plant growth promotion with respect to Ocimum sanctum

Spray Deposition and Characterization of p-type Li doped NiO Thin Films

Undoped and lithium doped nickel oxide (Li doped NiO) thin films have been prepared onto glass substrates at 450 °C by chemical spray pyrolysis technique. The effect of lithium (Li) concentrations on the structural, optical, photoluminescence and electrical properties of the Li doped NiO films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis- NIR spectrophotometer, Photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometer, Hot probe and Hall effect measurement system. The PL results confirmed that the band gap reduces when the lithium concentration increases. The structural properties of undoped and Li doped NiO films showed polycrystalline cubic structure. The optical transmittance and band gap values of the films decreases, while the absorption values increases with the increase in Li concentration. Moreover, it has been observed that the resistivity of the above films decreases with the increase in Li concentration

GEMINI: Integrative Exploration of Genetic Variation and Genome Annotations

Modern DNA sequencing technologies enable geneticists to rapidly identify genetic variation among many human genomes. However, isolating the minority of variants underlying disease remains an important, yet formidable challenge for medical genetics. We have developed GEMINI (GEnome MINIng), a flexible software package for exploring all forms of human genetic variation. Unlike existing tools, GEMINI integrates genetic variation with a diverse and adaptable set of genome annotations (e.g., dbSNP, ENCODE, UCSC, ClinVar, KEGG) into a unified database to facilitate interpretation and data exploration. Whereas other methods provide an inflexible set of variant filters or prioritization methods, GEMINI allows researchers to compose complex queries based on sample genotypes, inheritance patterns, and both pre-installed and custom genome annotations. GEMINI also provides methods for ad hoc queries and data exploration, a simple programming interface for custom analyses that leverage the underlying database, and both command line and graphical tools for common analyses. We demonstrate GEMINI's utility for exploring variation in personal genomes and family based genetic studies, and illustrate its ability to scale to studies involving thousands of human samples. GEMINI is designed for reproducibility and flexibility and our goal is to provide researchers with a standard framework for medical genomics

Sero Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children Using Two ELISA Kits

The diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis is based on circumstantial evidence in the absence of a gold standard in the majority of cases. Sero-diagnosis offers scope for an early diagnosis in a variety of clinical conditions and is simple to perform. A number of mycobacterial antigens have been used for antibody detection assays and several are available as kits in the market. This study was done to evaluate the value of antibody detection kits (ELISA) against the A60 antigen and 38kDa antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis at the outpatient department of the Institute of Social Paediatrics, Government Stanley Hospital in collaboration with Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai. Thirty five children with pulmonary tuberculosis, 7 with TB lymphadenitis and 22 healthy controls were studied. In addition to routine investigations including gastric lavage for AFB culture, serum antibodies against the A60 and 38kDa antigens were assayed using commercially available ELISA kits. With A60, IgM serum levels were positive in 74% of pulmonary TB cases, 57% of TB lymphadenitis cases and 50% of controls. A60 IgG was positive in 17% of pulmonary TB, 86% of TB lymphadenitis and 14% of controls. The 38 kDa IgG antibody was positive in 37% of pulmonary and 86% of TB lymphadenitis cases and 27% of controls. Among 10 culture confirmed cases, A60 IgM was positive in 8, A60 IgG in 3 and 38kDa IgG in 5 patients. The sensitivity of the tests ranged between 29% and 71% and specificity between 50% and 86%. Although the numbers are small, the results suggest that serodiagnosis using the currently available antigens of M. tuberculosis is unlikely to be a confirmatory test for tuberculosis in children

Diethyl 3,4-bis­(2,5-dimethoxy­benz­yl)thieno[2,3-b]thio­phene-2,5-di­car­boxylate

In the title compound, C30H32O8S2, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 18.8 (1)°. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by weak intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal structure, the mol­ecules are linked via weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions between two benzene rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.672 (1) Å]

N-[(3-Phenyl­sulfanyl-1-phenyl­sulfonyl-1H-indol-2-yl)meth­yl]propionamide

In the title compound, C24H22N2O3S2, the phenyl rings form dihedral angles of 75.2 (1) and 86.1 (1)° with the indole ring system. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by intra­molecular C–H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. The crystal structure exhibit inter­molecular N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, C—H⋯π and π–π [centroid–centroid distance = 3.748 (1) Å] inter­actions

Genetic diversity and evidence for acquired antimicrobial resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis at a large hospital in South India

AbstractObjectives: To assess genetic diversity and drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates collected at Christian Medical College Hospital (CMCH), Vellore, India, between July 1995 and May 1996.Materials and Methods: Isolates were subjected to IS6110-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and tested for resistance to isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, streptomycin, and pyrazinamide, and DNA from selected strains was sequenced in regions associated with drug resistance.Results: One hundred and one M. tuberculosis isolates were collected from 87 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Charts of 69 patients were reviewed for history of tuberculosis illness and treatment. DNA from 29 strains was sequenced in katG, rpoB, and gyrA, and sometimes pncA regions. Analysis by RFLP revealed a high degree of genetic diversity, with no identifiable clusters of infection. Of the strains tested, 51 % were resistant to at least one antibiotic, and 43% were resistant to more than one drug. There was a high rate of resistance observed in patients whose charts indicated a history of improperly administered tuberculosis treatment, whereas little drug resistance was observed in patients never previously treated for tuberculosis. Sequencing of genes associated with drug resistance revealed several previously unreported mutations in resistant strains.Conclusions: This analysis suggests that the cases of tuberculosis in the sample are largely reactivation of long-standing infections and that the drug resistance among patients in CMCH is largely acquired or secondary rather than attributable to the spread of drug-resistant strains