Biochemical and Ultrastructural Studies for Toxicity of Kaempferol Derivative Recovered from the Plant Lysimachia Ramosa

Leaves of Lysimachia ramosa are used by various tribes of Meghalaya to cure intestinal helminth infections. Preliminary investigations disclosed impressive anthelmintic effects of the kaempferol derivative, an active component of the plant, however, toxic effects on its consumers, if any, are not known. Therefore, the present study has been undertaken to investigate the acute and sub-acute toxic effects of kaempferol derivative, of the plant, taking Wistar rats as a model. Following OECD 407, 250 mg, 500 mg, and 1000 mg/kg body weight doses of the active component have been selected to treat the animals for 28 days. On the 29th day, the animals have been sacrificed to assess different toxicological effects on animals. The LD50 value of the anthelmintic component was found to be more than 5000 mg/kg body weight of rats. Histological, ultrastructural, haematological, biochemical, andorgano-somatic (HSI and RSI) studies demonstrate changes in surface characteristics of various cellular organelles of different vital organs such as the liver, kidney, and intestine. Alterations were also recorded in different vital enzymes such as AST, ALT, and ALP in the phytochemical exposed rats at higher doses. The results revealed that treatment with the active component at a higher concentration may lead to toxicological effects if treatment persists for a longer period

Effect of Site-disorder, Off-stoichiometry and Epitaxial Strain on the Optical Properties of Magnetoelectric Gallium Ferrite

We present a combined experimental-theoretical study demonstrating the role of site disorder, off-stoichiometry and strain on the optical behavior of magnetoelectric gallium ferrite. Optical properties such as band-gap, refractive indices and dielectric constants were experimentally obtained by performing ellipsometric studies over the energy range 0.8 eV to 4.2 eV on pulsed laser deposited epitaxial thin films of stoichiometric gallium ferrite with b-axis orientation and the data was compared with theoretical results. Calculations on the ground state structure show that the optical activity in GaFeO3 arises primarily from O2p-Fe3d transitions. Further, inclusion of site disorder and epitaxial strain in the ground state structure significantly improves the agreement between the theory and the room temperature experimental data substantiating the presence of site-disorder in the experimentally derived strained GaFeO3 films at room temperature. We attribute the modification of the ground state optical behavior upon inclusion of site disorder to the corresponding changes in the electronic band structure, especially in Fe3d states leading to a lowered band-gap of the material.Comment: 18 Pages, 6 figure

Direct Construction of Optimal Z-Complementary Code Sets for all Possible Even Length by Using Pseudo-Boolean Functions

Z-complementary code set (ZCCS) are well known to be used in multicarrier code-division multiple access (MCCDMA) system to provide a interference free environment. Based on the existing literature, the direct construction of optimal ZCCSs are limited to its length. In this paper, we are interested in constructing optimal ZCCSs of all possible even lengths using Pseudo-Boolean functions. The maximum column sequence peakto-man envelop power ratio (PMEPR) of the proposed ZCCSs is upper-bounded by two, which may give an extra benefit in managing PMEPR in an ZCCS based MC-CDMA system, as well as the ability to handle a large number of users

Brief Announcement: Crash-Tolerant Consensus in Directed Graph Revisited

We revisit the problem of distributed consensus in directed graphs tolerating crash failures; we improve the round and communication complexity of the existing protocols. Moreover, we prove that our protocol requires the optimal number of communication rounds, required by any protocol belonging to a specific class of crash-tolerant consensus protocols in directed graphs

Engineered mesenchymal stem cells with self-assembled vesicles for systemic cell targeting

Cell therapy has the potential to impact the quality of life of suffering patients. Systemic infusion is a convenient method of cell delivery; however, the efficiency of engraftment presents a major challenge. It has been shown that modification of the cell surface with adhesion ligands is a viable approach to improve cell homing, yet current methods including genetic modification suffer potential safety concerns, are practically complex and are unable to accommodate a wide variety of homing ligands or are not amendable to multiple cell types. We report herein a facile and generic approach to transiently engineer the cell surface using lipid vesicles to present biomolecular ligands that promote cell rolling, one of the first steps in the homing process. Specifically, we demonstrated that lipid vesicles rapidly fuse with the cell membrane to introduce biotin moieties on the cell surface that can subsequently conjugate streptavidin and potentially any biotinylated homing ligand. Given that cell rolling is a pre-requisite to firm adhesion for systemic cell homing, we examined the potential of immobilizing sialyl Lewis X (SLeX) on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to induce cell rolling on a P-selectin surface, under dynamic flow conditions. MSCs modified with SLeX exhibit significantly improved rolling interactions with a velocity of 8 μm/s as compared to 61 μm/s for unmodified MSCs at a shear stress of 0.5 dyn/cm[superscript 2]. The cell surface modification does not impact the phenotype of the MSCs including their viability and multi-lineage differentiation potential. These results show that the transitory modification of cell surfaces with lipid vesicles can be used to efficiently immobilize adhesion ligands and potentially target systemically administered cells to the site of inflammation.American Heart Association (Grant 0970178N)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant DE019191

Effectiveness And Safety Measures Of Benazepril Hydrochloride On Diabetic Nephropathy

One of the most common chronic microvascular consequences of diabetes, diabetic nephropathy (DN) affects a significant number of individuals globally. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reports that there are 37 million diabetes people globally, with around 4.6 million of them passing away in 2011. The current review was based on the effectiveness and toxicity of Benazepril Hydrochloride on Diabetic Nephropathy. Benazepril is a prodrug that consists of an extremely low inhibitory action ethyl ester, a carboxylic acid group, and the benzepine nucleus with a phenyl-propyl side chain. The FDA has approved benazepril hydrochloride for the treatment of hypertension, either by itself or in conjunction with other antihypertensive medications. Anaphylactoid reactions and angioedema, which can include tongue edema and laryngeal angioedema, are examples of sensitivity reactions that have the potential to be lethal. Renal dysfunction and electrolyte imbalances are linked to hypotension. In the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the use of medications that affect the renin-angiotensin system decreases fetal renal function and increases morbidity and mortality in the fetus and newborn. The most prevalent indicator of toxicity is low blood pressure. In additions, lack of energy, increased salivation, elevated heart rate, vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness, coughing, bronchospasms, and kidney malfunction are other indicators of toxicity. In conclusion, in the management of diabetic nephropathy combination therapy- benazepril with spironolactone or diuretic is recommended. It heals the nephrons which have been affected due to the toxicity of various drugs or infections.   &nbsp

Landslide Investigation at Phata Village on Rudraprayag-Kedarnath Road, Uttaranchal — A Case Study

Phata village on the Guptakashi-Gaurikund road in the Mandakini valley of Garhwal Himalaya was affected by a major landslide on 16th July 2001 due to heavy rainfall. The debris flow not only swept away several houses but it also claimed 15 lives. A detailed landslide investigation was carried out to assess the present stability condition. Geotechnical investigation was carried out to determine the soil properties. Seismic refraction survey to determine the overburden thickness was also carried out using Engineering Seismograph. Slope stability analysis was carried out to ascertain the existing stability of the slope. It was found that with rise in pore pressure the slope is marginally stable. The seismic stability analysis showed that seismicity of the order of 0.15g may trigger slips on the slope. The human settlement on the downhill slope may get effected in the eventuality of slide due to seismicity or rain. The paper presents the results of the geological and geotechnical studies which helped to assess the present stability condition