INTERACTION OF p-AMINO BENZOIC ACID (PABA) WITH IONIC AND NONIONIC MICELLES BY FLUORESCENCE

ABSTRACT Micellar solubilization is a powerful alternative for dissolving hydrophobic compounds in aqueous environment. Fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy are the two techniques used to monitor the micellar solubilization studies of p-amino benzoic acid (PABA). PABA is an aromatic compound with acidic functional group, is non essential nutrient, used as a sunscreen. Externally, it prevents sunburn and skin cancer from UV light. The emission intensity of PABA is significantly enhanced in nonionic and anionic micellar media and decreased in cationic micellar media of different surfactants. The solubilizing action of the surfactant has also been determined by theoretical calculated spectral parameters like empirical fluorescence coefficient, quantum yield, molar absorption coefficient and stokes' shift value. The fluorescence as well as the theoretically calculated spectral data have been used to characterize the heteroenvironment of the micelles in terms of their polarity, probe solubilization site and critical micellar concentration (CMC). This article briefly discusses the importance of surfactants in biological system model as well as the use of micelles in pharmacy as an important tool that finds numerous applications

Effect of different weed management practices on production of spring maize in Dang, Nepal

The study was carried out at Lamahi-8, Satbariya, Dang to evaluate the effect of different weed management practices on the production of spring maize. The experiment was carried out in a Randomized Complete Block Design using three replications and seven treatments. Rampur hybrid 10 variety and early post emergence (EPoE) herbicide were used in the experiment. The treatment consisted of single as well as combined weed management methods as T1:  Broadcasting-One hand weeding, T2: Broadcasting-Herbicide, T3: Line sown- One hand weeding, T4: Line sown-Herbicide + one hand weeding, T5: Line sown- Mini tiller weeder, T6: Line sown- herbicide + mini tiller and T7: Line sown- One hand weeding + mini tiller. The experiment result showed that the combined application of early post emergence herbicide and mini tiller resulted the highest grain yield (8.62 Mt/ha) with minimum total weed density at 60 DAS (41.33/m2) and at harvest (68/m2) thus resulting minimum weed dry weight at 60 DAS (5.45 g/m2) and at harvest (10.64 g/m2). Sixteen different weed species belonging to 9 different families were identified in the experimental field. The highest benefit: cost (3.37) was obtained in the treatment Line sown-Herbicide + mini tiller weeder which was significantly higher compared to other treatments. Among the treatments applied, one with the application of herbicide in combination with mini tiller weeder was found to be the most effective one that resulted in the minimum weed density and minimum dry weight, higher grain and biological yield with the highest benefit cost ratio thus proving to be the most economical one. At the same time, application of mini tiller weeder as a single method was found to be the next better alternative for weed control in spring maize that could benefit the farmers in comparison to other single weed management practices

Interaction of Indole-3-Propionic Acid (IPA) and Surfactant Micelles: A Fluorescence Study

ABSTRACT The study of interaction of indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) a biologically and analytically important molecule, with the micelles of non-ionic and ionic surfactants. IPA is a plant growth hormone in the auxin family and is an ingredient in many commercial horticulture plant rooting product. The studies have been conducted by fluorescence spectral technique at room temperature. IPA shows fluorescence excitation peak at 285 nm and emission peak at 370 nm. The non-ionic surfactants decreased the fluorescence intensity of IPA. The ionic surfactants enhanced the fluorescence intensity except CPC. Except few, all the surfactants caused a blue shift of 15 nm in the emission peak position. These spectral observations were supplemented by parallel absorption studies and some theoretically calculated spectral parameters. The fluorescence properties as well as the theoretically calculated spectral data have been used to characterize the heteroenvironments of the micelles in terms of their polarity, probe solubilization site and critical micelle concentration. This paper briefly discusses the importance of surfactants and biological system model as well as the use of micelles in pharmacy as an important tool that finds numerous applications

Leukemic pleural effusion in AML-M0: Unusual presentation

Extramedullary disease in AML-M0 is a rare occurrence. It is even rarer to encounter breathlessness as primary presenting complaint secondary to a leukemic pleural effusion. Leukemic pleural effusion occurs rarely in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with minimal differentiation. Patients with AML usually present with weakness, hemorrhage, and recurrent infections. The highest incidence of extramedullary leukemic manifestation is seen in monocytic AML. Here, we report the case of an 18-year-old male who presented withbreathlessness and vocal cord palsy. Examination and investigation established diagnosis of an acute myeloid leukemia M0 with leukemic pleural effusion

Chediak higashi syndrome: A case report of rare anomaly

Chediak Higashi syndrome (CHS) is a rare autosomal recessive immunodeficiency disorder that arises due to the mutation of a trafficking protein which leads to a decrease in phagocytosis. This results in frequent pyogenic infections, albinism, and peripheral neuropathy. Infections in these patients tend to be very serious and life-threatening. CHS is caused by mutations in a gene LYST on chromosome 1. Here, we report the case of CHS in a 4-year-old boy who presented to us with recurrent fever, splenomegaly, and hypopigmentation. This case is being presented due to its rarity and presentation of pancytopenia without hemophagocytosis

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus: molecular biology and biotechnological applications for large-scale synthesis of recombinant proteins

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrosis virus (BmNPV), a natural pathogen of great economic significance in sericulture, has been exploited to generate recombinant baculoviruses harbouring genes of choice and achieve high level expression of cloned foreign genes. The BmNPV-based expression system offers the advantage of using the larval host rather than the insectderived cell lines for economic large-scale synthesis of biomolecules. Since commercial rearing of silkworms is routinely practised, a part of the silkworm stocks can be diverted to produce biomolecules other than silk and the more sophisticated tissue culture methodologies can be dispensed with on an industrial scale. Nonetheless, the BmNPV-based expression considerably lags behind the AcMNPV system in vogue today, in terms of the choice of expression-optimized cloning vectors and easy recombinant generation kits that are commercially available. This review provides a brief outline of the current state of knowledge on the basic biology and genomics of BmNPV and how the virus has been made use of to produce biomolecules through its larval host, the mulberry silkworm. Since hyper-transcription from the viral very late gene promoters forms the basis of high level expression through recombinant baculoviruses, some aspects of the viral gene transcription and the role of late gene expression factors have also been included in the review

Leukemic transformation in myelodysplastic syndrome: A case report with review of risk factors

Myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of clonal disorders affecting the hemopoietic stem cells and characterized by peripheral cytopenias with normocellular to hypercellular bone marrow and various morphological abnormalities in one or more hemopoietic cell lines. MDS carries a high risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia especially in subtypes with increased myeloblasts. Here, we present the case of leukemic transformation in MDSin a 41-year-old male who presented with complaints of generalized weakness, loss of appetite for 2 months and fever on and off for 1 week. The patient was diagnosed as MDS-multilineage dysplasia after blood examination and bone marrow biopsy but the patient refused for further treatment

Preparation of floral calendar of bee flora available in Lamjung district, Nepal

Between March and May 2022, researchers conducted a broad survey in the Lamjung district to ascertain the presence and accessibility of bee-friendly flora to compile a floral calendar. In the PMAMP Bee Zone, 62 respondents were chosen for the interview through a simple random sampling approach, from a pool of 382 registered beekeepers. Primary data collection involved using personal interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant surveys. Secondary data were gathered from publications related to the topic from various institutions. The collected data were then analyzed using IBM SPSS V.26 and Microsoft Excel. Nearly all farmers in the study area kept Apis cerana bees, but due to insufficient irrigation, the crop fields provided limited forage for the bees during certain periods. The lowest number of frames covers by bees was four during the dearth period. Farmers in the Lamjung district did not practice migratory foraging. The majority of the respondents reported an increase in productivity compared to the previous year. However, only 37.1 percent of them cultivated bee flora. The colony carrying capacity of the forage area was not estimated. Additionally, an increase in deforestation was identified as the major problem affecting bee foraging. To address these issues, it was recommended to plant and cultivate perennial trees such as butter trees (Vitellaria paradox), bottle brush (Callistemon speciosus), litchi (Litchi chinensis), sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo), and sunflower (Helianthus annus) with assured irrigation. This approach could ensure year-round forage availability and reduce the need for artificial feeding. The research aimed to explore the current status of honey bee flora and investigate major flora that could be introduced in the study area

An Insight on Nutraceutical Influences of Spice and Condiments: Serve as a Flavor and Immunity Enhancer from Ages

Spice is a dried aromatic or pungent plant substance such as root, stem, bark, leaves, bud, flower, fruit, seeds, etc., used as a flavor modifier in many culinary practices. A historical wisdom supports their use as an ingredient for flavoring the food and medicinal uses in various kind of healing systems. Spice and condiments not only enhance the sensory quality of food whereas they boost the immune system and give healthy nutrition which prevents the risk of chronic diseases. The ancient study also reveals that an adequate amount of daily intake of spices balances the three doshas (tridoshas) of the human body such as Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The imbalance of these doshas effect directly immune health and makes the body susceptible to disease. These plants have special chemical compounds which are responsible for their aromatic or pungent flavor and therapeutic actions. Due to the richness of phyto-chemicals, spice & condiments supports pharmaceutical, cosmetics, perfumery and several other industries world-widely

The CMS Outer Hadron Calorimeter

The CMS hadron calorimeter is a sampling calorimeter with brass absorber and plastic scintillator tiles with wavelength shifting fibres for carrying the light to the readout device. The barrel hadron calorimeter is complemented with a outer calorimeter to ensure high energy shower containment in CMS and thus working as a tail catcher. Fabrication, testing and calibrations of the outer hadron calorimeter are carried out keeping in mind its importance in the energy measurement of jets in view of linearity and resolution. It will provide a net improvement in missing \et measurements at LHC energies. The outer hadron calorimeter has a very good signal to background ratio even for a minimum ionising particle and can hence be used in coincidence with the Resistive Plate Chambers of the CMS detector for the muon trigger