Karyotype of apomictic Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a wild plant with high medicinal value

Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion) includes sexually diploid as well as apomictic polyploid, mostly triploid plants. Apomixis holds great promise in agriculture and biotechnology as it fixes traits regardless of their complexity in genetic control.  Taraxacum officinale serves as a model system to investigate the genetics, ecology and evolution of apomixis. The Taraxacum seeds were allowed to germinate, The colchicine treated metaphasic cells of the dividing root tips were fixed, and processed for chromosome analysis. It is found that Taraxacum officinale of Kashmir is a triploid (2N=3X=24), based on X=8. The karyotyping reveals symmetrical karyotype of the genus where in centromere is metacentric in six triplets and sub-metacentric in two triplets

Soft Template Assisted Synthesis of Zirconium Resorcinol Phosphate Nanocomposite Material for the Uptake of Heavy-Metal Ions

Herein, we report the low temperature, template directed synthesis of zirconium resorcinol phosphate (ZrRP) nanocomposite material, within water-in-oil microemulsion with Tergitol-7 as a surfactant. The material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTG), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and specific area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. The powder X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the material is amorphous in nature with hardly developed crystallinity. SEM and TEM micrography studies showed that the ZrRP nanocomposite has nearly spherical morphology with average particle size of 30–40 nm. Viscoelastic behavior of ZrRP gel confirms its non-Newtonian behavior which is indicative of monodisperse nature of ZrRP nanoparticles. ZrRP possesses high ion exchange capacity of 2.9 mequiv g^–1 for Sr²⁺ ion and can have potential application in radionuclide recovery from nuclear wastes. Distribution coefficients are high for Cd²⁺ ion (1.3 × 10⁴ mL g^–1) and Ni²⁺ ion (6.1 × 10³ mL g^–1) in 0.01 M perchloric acid medium. High distribution coefficient value of ZrRP toward Cd²⁺ ions was used for its quantitative separation from Zn²⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions

Biochemical Characterization and Functional Analysis of Heat Stable High Potential Protease of <i>Bacillus amyloliquefaciens</i> Strain HM48 from Soils of Dachigam National Park in Kashmir Himalaya

A novel temperature stable alkaline protease yielding bacteria was isolated from the soils of Dachigam National Park, which is known to be inhabited by a wide variety of endemic plant and animal species of Western Himalaya. This high-potential protease producing isolate was characterized and identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain HM48 by morphological, Gram’s staining and biochemical techniques followed by molecular characterization using 16S rRNA approach. The extracellular protease of B. amyloliquefaciens HM48 was purified by precipitating with ammonium sulfate (80%), followed by dialysis and Gel filtration chromatography increasing its purity by 5.8-fold. The SDS–PAGE analysis of the purified enzyme confirmed a molecular weight of about ≈25 kDa. The enzyme displayed exceptional activity in a broad temperature range (10–90 °C) at pH 8.0, retaining its maximum at 70 °C, being the highest reported for this proteolytic Bacillus sp., with KM and Vmax of 11.71 mg/mL and 357.14 µmol/mL/min, respectively. The enzyme exhibited remarkable activity and stability against various metal ions, surfactants, oxidizing agent (H2O2), organic solvents and displayed outstanding compatibility with widely used detergents. This protease showed effective wash performance by exemplifying complete blood and egg-yolk stains removal at 70 °C and efficiently disintegrated chicken feathers making it of vital importance for laundry purpose and waste management. For functional analysis, protease gene amplification of strain HM48 yielded a nucleotide sequence of about 700 bp, which, when checked against the available sequences in NCBI, displayed similarity with subtilisin-like serine protease of B. amyloliquefaciens. The structure of this protease and its highest-priority substrate β-casein was generated through protein modeling. These protein models were validated through futuristic algorithms following which protein–protein (protease from HM48 and β-casein) docking was performed. The interaction profile of these proteins in the docked state with each other was also generated, shedding light on their finer details. Such attributes make this thermally stable protease novel and suitable for high-temperature industrial and environmental applications

Biochemical Characterization and Functional Analysis of Heat Stable High Potential Protease of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Strain HM48 from Soils of Dachigam National Park in Kashmir Himalaya

A novel temperature stable alkaline protease yielding bacteria was isolated from the soils of Dachigam National Park, which is known to be inhabited by a wide variety of endemic plant and animal species of Western Himalaya. This high-potential protease producing isolate was characterized and identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain HM48 by morphological, Gram&rsquo;s staining and biochemical techniques followed by molecular characterization using 16S rRNA approach. The extracellular protease of B. amyloliquefaciens HM48 was purified by precipitating with ammonium sulfate (80%), followed by dialysis and Gel filtration chromatography increasing its purity by 5.8-fold. The SDS&ndash;PAGE analysis of the purified enzyme confirmed a molecular weight of about &asymp;25 kDa. The enzyme displayed exceptional activity in a broad temperature range (10&ndash;90 &deg;C) at pH 8.0, retaining its maximum at 70 &deg;C, being the highest reported for this proteolytic Bacillus sp., with KM and Vmax of 11.71 mg/mL and 357.14 &micro;mol/mL/min, respectively. The enzyme exhibited remarkable activity and stability against various metal ions, surfactants, oxidizing agent (H2O2), organic solvents and displayed outstanding compatibility with widely used detergents. This protease showed effective wash performance by exemplifying complete blood and egg-yolk stains removal at 70 &deg;C and efficiently disintegrated chicken feathers making it of vital importance for laundry purpose and waste management. For functional analysis, protease gene amplification of strain HM48 yielded a nucleotide sequence of about 700 bp, which, when checked against the available sequences in NCBI, displayed similarity with subtilisin-like serine protease of B. amyloliquefaciens. The structure of this protease and its highest-priority substrate &beta;-casein was generated through protein modeling. These protein models were validated through futuristic algorithms following which protein&ndash;protein (protease from HM48 and &beta;-casein) docking was performed. The interaction profile of these proteins in the docked state with each other was also generated, shedding light on their finer details. Such attributes make this thermally stable protease novel and suitable for high-temperature industrial and environmental applications

Clinico-radiological Results of Distal Chevron Osteotomy without Lateral Soft Tissue Release in Mild to Moderate Hallux Valgus Deformity

Background. The study was done to evaluate short term clinico-radiological results of distal chevron osteotomy without lateral soft tissue release in mild to moderate hallux valgus. Materials and methods. This was a prospective study consisting of a total of 35 cases with mild to moderate hallux valgus deformity. All these patients were treated by distal chevron osteotomy without lateral soft tissue release. Results. In our study, the average value of hallux angle preoperatively was 32° (range, 24°-40°) and at final follow-up it was 14° (range, 8°-31°). The average reduction was 18°. The average intermetatarsal angle showed mean reduction of 5.3° at the final follow-up. Average range of motion of the first metatarsophalyngeal joint preoperatively and at final follow-up showed a small reduction of 5 degrees. The average preoperative AOFAS score was 49, which improved by 35 points to 84 at the final follow-up. 11.42% of the patients in the study group had a recurrence. Conclusions. 1. Based on our experience with distal chevron osteotomy without lateral soft tissue release, we found the procedure easy to perform with good procedural outcomes. 2. The possible complications of lateral soft tissue release are avoided

Enhancing rate capability of amorphous nickel phosphate supercapattery electrode via composition with crystalline silver phosphate

The performance of a supercapattery depends on its energy density, rate capability of charge and discharge and stability of electrode. Here in, a sonochemical method followed by calcination was applied to synthesize nickel phosphate-silver phosphate (Ni3(PO4)2–Ag3PO4) nanocomposites. Morphological studies revealed that crystalline Ag3PO4 (∼10 nm) was intimately anchored on the surface of amorphous Ni3(PO4)2, which benefits efficient charge transfer between the two metal phosphates. The optimized Ni3(PO4)2–Ag3PO4 nanocomposite electrode exhibited a significant boost in rate capability from 29% (Ni3(PO4)2) to 78% capacity retention with the maximum specific capacity of 478C/g at 1 A/g in 1 M KOH electrolyte. The enhancement of rate capability originated from a more rapid electron-transfer rate and an augmentation of electroactive sites for electrolyte ion diffusion from the interfaces of porous Ni3(PO4)2 and an improvement in the electrical conductivity of crystalline Ag3PO4. The fabricated Ni3(PO4)2–Ag3PO4//activated carbon-based supercapattery exhibited an energy density of 32.4 Wh/kg at 399.5 W/kg and excellent cyclic stability (∼82% capacity retention after 5000 cycles)

Hydrothermally Assisted Synthesis of Porous Polyaniline@Carbon Nanotubes–Manganese Dioxide Ternary Composite for Potential Application in Supercapattery

In this study, ternary composites of polyaniline (PANI) with manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanorods and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by employing a hydrothermal methodology and in-situ oxidative polymerization of aniline. The morphological analysis by scanning electron microscopy showed that the MnO2 possessed nanorod like structures in its pristine form, while in the ternary PANI@CNT/MnO2 composite, coating of PANI over CNT/MnO2, rods/tubes were evidently seen. The structural analysis by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed peaks corresponding to MnO2, PANI and CNT, which suggested efficacy of the synthesis methodology. The electrochemical performance in contrast to individual components revealed the enhanced performance of PANI@CNT/MnO2 composite due to the synergistic/additional effect of PANI, CNT and MnO2 compared to pure MnO2, PANI and PANI@CNT. The PANI@CNT/MnO2 ternary composite exhibited an excellent specific capacity of 143.26 C g&minus;1 at a scan rate of 3 mV s&minus;1. The cyclic stability of the supercapattery (PANI@CNT/MnO2/activated carbon)&mdash;consisting of a battery type electrode&mdash;demonstrated a gradual increase in specific capacity with continuous charge&ndash;discharge over ~1000 cycles and showed a cyclic stability of 119% compared to its initial value after 3500 cycles