Low Power Reversible Parallel Binary Adder/Subtractor

In recent years, Reversible Logic is becoming more and more prominent technology having its applications in Low Power CMOS, Quantum Computing, Nanotechnology, and Optical Computing. Reversibility plays an important role when energy efficient computations are considered. In this paper, Reversible eight-bit Parallel Binary Adder/Subtractor with Design I, Design II and Design III are proposed. In all the three design approaches, the full Adder and Subtractors are realized in a single unit as compared to only full Subtractor in the existing design. The performance analysis is verified using number reversible gates, Garbage input/outputs and Quantum Cost. It is observed that Reversible eight-bit Parallel Binary Adder/Subtractor with Design III is efficient compared to Design I, Design II and existing design.Comment: 12 pages,VLSICS Journa

Critical analysis and unique management of Gridhrasi w.s.r. to Sciatica - A Case Report

Gridhrasi (Sciatica) is a disorder in which low back pain is found, that spreads through the hip, to the back of the thigh and down the inside of the leg. Mechanical low back pain (LBP) remains the second most common symptom related reason for seeing a physician. 85% of total population will experience an episode of mechanical LBP at some point during their lifetime. Fortunately, the LBP resolves for the vast majority within 2-4 weeks. There are many causes for low back pain, however true sciatica is a symptom of inflammation or compression of the sciatica nerve. The sciatica nerve carries impulses between nerve roots in the lower back and the muscles and nerve of the buttocks, thighs and lower legs. Compression of a nerve root often occurs as a result of damage to one of the discs between the vertebrae. In some cases, sciatic pain radiate from other nerves in the body. This is called referred pain. Pain associated with sciatica often is severe, sharp and shooting. It may be accompanied by other symptom, such as numbness, tingling, weakness and sensitivity to touch. There is only conservative treatment giving short term relief in pain or surgical intervention with side effect. But these are not successful and therefore those who are suffering from this are always in search of result oriented remedy. Walking distance and SLR test were taken for assessment parameter, VAS score was adopted for pain. Before treatment patient was not able to walk even 4 to 5 steps due to severe pain, was brought on stretcher and his SLR was 30° of right side. After 22 days of treatment he was able to walk up to 500 meters without any difficulty, SLR was changed to 60° and patient had got 80 % relief in pain. This case report showed that Ayurvedic protocol is potent and safe in the treatment of Gridhrasi

Soft wood grafting - A novel and rapid multiplication technique in Coorg mandarin (Citrus reticulate Blanco)

Coorg mandarin is commercially multiplied by shield or T budding. The process of shield budding will takes eighteen to twenty months for the production of quality planting material. Hence present experiment was conducted to standardize soft wood grafting in Coorg mandarin to reduce the nursery phase for rapid multiplication of quality planting materials. In this study, two to three months old terminal shoots of Coorg mandarin were grafted on one, two, three and four months old rootstocks of Rangpur lime.The soft wood grafting on three and four months old rootstocks were recorded cent per cent graft success and higher plant survivability (98%) and minimum was noticed in one month old rootstocks. The plant height (45.77 cm), plant girth (0.60 cm), number of leaves per plant (42.9), number of side shoots per plant (5.65), root length (33.15 cm) and root spread (8.29 cm)were also found maximum on four months old root stocks followed by three month old rootstocks. Age of rootstocks have significant difference (P=0.05) for plant weight, shoot weight and root weight in both fresh and dry weight basis.The above findings revealed that, four months old rootstocks are more suitable for soft wood grafting in terms of graft success and plant traits. Soft wood grafting can be gainfully exploited for rapid multiplication of good quality planting material by reducing the nursery phase

Pain management in Gridhrasi through Ayurveda - An Observational Study

Gridhrasi is a Shula Pradhana Vata Nanatmaja Vyadhi which is characterized by the Kramat Shula in the Prushtha Bhaaga of Sphik, Kati, Uru, Jaanu Jangha and Pada Pradesha. It is corelated with Sciatica based on the aetiology and symptomatology. This disease is mainly caused due the improper postures and the nature of the work. The main challenge is the management of pain. In Modern Science this condition is managed by the administration of Analgesics and in the later conditions Surgery will be advised with no definite relief. Shodhana, Siravyadha, Basti, Agni Karma are the treatment modalities have been mentioned in the classics. Here the study is conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Siravyadha in the management of the Shula in Gridhrasi with a successful outcome

Effect of post harvest ripening on bioactive secondary metabolites and antioxidant activity in mango cv. Amrapali

Mango possesses many bioactive phytonutrients at ripe stage which boost our immune systemagainst many diseases. Post harvest ripening plays a major role in changes in those bioactivephytochemicals and their antioxidant activity. Hence, the present study was undertaken toassess the changes in bioactive phytonutrients and total antioxidant activity during ripeningof mango cv. Amrapali. The fruits were analyzed for total antioxidants, total phenols, totalflavonoids and total carotenoids from the day of harvest to its deterioration. Fruit peel andpulp color was measured with SPH850 spectrophotometer on the basis of the CIE LAB colorsystem (L*, a* and b*). The results revealed that total phenols (36.11 to 66.53mg GAE 100g-1),total flavonoids (14.33 to 34.67mg QE 100g-1), total carotenoids (2.23 to 11.47mg 100g-1) andtotal antioxidant (0.37 to 0.76 mmol Trolox 100g-1) activity increased gradually from day one toninth day after harvest and decreased slightly thereafter up to eleventh day of harvest excepttotal carotenoids, which remained constant. Strong correlations between total phenols (0.94),total flavonoids (0.86) and total carotenoids (0.97) with total antioxidant activity were noticed.Positive relationship between total carotenoids and L*, a*, b* values in mango peel and pulpduring ripening was also observed. It can be concluded that ripening affected the compositionof bioactive phytonutrients and their antioxidant activity in mango andmaximum nutraceuticalscontents were noticed from seven to nine days after harvest

Genome-wide survey and characterization of microsatellites in cashew and design of a web-based microsatellite database: CMDB

The cashew is an edible tree nut crop having a wide range of food and industrial applications. Despite great economic importance, the genome-wide characterization of microsatellites [simple sequence repeats (SSRs)] in cashew is lacking. In this study, we carried out the first comprehensive genome-wide microsatellites/SSRs characterization in cashew and developed polymorphic markers and a web-based microsatellite database. A total of 54526 SSRs were discovered in the cashew genome, with a mean frequency of 153 SSRs/Mb. Among the mined genome-wide SSRs (2-6 bp size motifs), the dinucleotide repeat motifs were dominant (68.98%) followed by the trinucleotides (24.56%). The Class I type of SSRs (≥20 bp) were 45.10%, while Class II repeat motifs (≥12–<20 bp) were 54.89% of the total genomic SSRs discovered here. Further, the AT-rich SSRs occurred more frequently in the cashew genome (84%) compared to the GC-rich SSRs. The validation of the in silico-mined genome-wide SSRs by PCR screening in cashew genotypes resulted in the development of 59 polymorphic SSR markers, and the polymorphism information content (PIC) of the polymorphic SSR markers ranged from 0.19 to 0.84. Further, a web-based database, “Cashew Microsatellite Database (CMDB),” was constructed to provide access to the genome-wide SSRs mined in this study as well as transcriptome-based SSRs from our previous study to the research community through a user-friendly searchable interface. Besides, CMDB provides information on experimentally validated SSRs. CMDB permits the retrieval of SSR markers information with the customized search options. Altogether, the genome-wide SSRs characterization, the polymorphic markers and CMDB database developed in this study would serve as valuable marker resources for DNA fingerprinting, germplasm characterization, genetic studies, and molecular breeding in cashew and related Anacardium species

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF DUKU (LANSIUM DOMESTICUM CORR) AND LANGSAT (LANSIUM DOMESTICUM JACK) EXTRACTS ON THE GROWTH OF BIFIDOBACTERIA SPP.

Objective: Lansium domesticum Corr. is a fruit tree species belongs to the family Meliaceae. There are numerous forms of the species and grouped into two main types: Duku and Langsat. The objective of this study is to screen the ability of adding extracts of freeze-dried duku and langsat to stimulate the growth and stability of selected Bifidobacteria spp in skimmed milk.Methods: Samples were prepared by adding either 5% or 12% of oligosaccharides from duku, langsat, inulin, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) to 5% and 12% (w/v) reconstituted nonfat dry milk (NDM), respectively. The specific growth rates (µ) for each sample were calculated. All experiments were replicated ten times.Results: The mean doubling time (Td) for Bifidobacterium longum, was lowest in the presence of freeze-dried duku and langsat compared to GOS, FOS and inulin. Retention of the viability of five Bifidobacterium species was greatest in the presence of freeze-dried duku and langsat followed by GOS, FOS and inulin. The highest percentage of acetic and lactic acids were produced by B. longum, B. infantis and B. adolescentis with freeze-dried duku and langsat. The pattern of results was similar to the commercial product, oligosaccharides (inulin, GOS and FOS). Conclusion: Therefore, this study provides promising results on promoting growth and probiotic activity of natural oligosaccharides compound from freeze-dried duku and langsat

Sexual Dysfunction in Neurological Disorders with Special Emphasis on Parkinson’s Disease: Insights from Clinical Studies and Animal Models

Epidemiological studies illustrate that sexual dysfunction (SD) is common among the majority of patients suffering from neurological disorders (NLDs). However, our understanding of the SD in NLDs is in its infancy. Our effort in this review article reveals how the clinical studies illustrate different phenotypes relating to SD in both men and women suffering from NLDs, with special reference to PD, and how the development of animal models will provide a fantastic opportunity to decipher mechanistic insights into the biological and molecular processes of SD, understanding of which is critical to figure out the causes of SD and to develop therapeutic strategies either by targeting molecular players or altering and/or regulating the profiles of involved genetic targets. Specific emphasis is placed on dopamine-dependent and independent mechanism(s) of SD among PD patients, which is important because certain critical dopamine-independent phenotypes are yet to be characterized and understood in order to decipher the comprehensive pathophysiology of PD. Synergic efforts of both clinicians and bench scientists in this critical direction would significantly improve the quality of life of sufferers of NLDs who are already burdened. This knowledge relating to SD will help us to make one more step in reducing the burden of disease

Targeting Phosphopeptide Recognition by the Human BRCA1 Tandem BRCT Domain to Interrupt BRCA1-Dependent Signaling.

Intracellular signals triggered by DNA breakage flow through proteins containing BRCT (BRCA1 C-terminal) domains. This family, comprising 23 conserved phosphopeptide-binding modules in man, is inaccessible to small-molecule chemical inhibitors. Here, we develop Bractoppin, a drug-like inhibitor of phosphopeptide recognition by the human BRCA1 tandem (t)BRCT domain, which selectively inhibits substrate binding with nanomolar potency in vitro. Structure-activity exploration suggests that Bractoppin engages BRCA1 tBRCT residues recognizing pSer in the consensus motif, pSer-Pro-Thr-Phe, plus an abutting hydrophobic pocket that is distinct in structurally related BRCT domains, conferring selectivity. In cells, Bractoppin inhibits substrate recognition detected by Förster resonance energy transfer, and diminishes BRCA1 recruitment to DNA breaks, in turn suppressing damage-induced G2 arrest and assembly of the recombinase, RAD51. But damage-induced MDC1 recruitment, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) generation, and TOPBP1 recruitment remain unaffected. Thus, an inhibitor of phosphopeptide recognition selectively interrupts BRCA1 tBRCT-dependent signals evoked by DNA damage

Decreased Prevalence of Lymphatic Filariasis among Diabetic Subjects Associated with a Diminished Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Response (CURES 83)

Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse correlation between the incidence of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and the incidence of allergies and autoimmunity. However, the interrelationship between LF and type-2 diabetes is not known and hence, a cross sectional study to assess the baseline prevalence and the correlates of sero-positivity of LF among diabetic subjects was carried out (n = 1416) as part of the CURES study. There was a significant decrease in the prevalence of LF among diabetic subjects (both newly diagnosed [5.7%] and those under treatment [4.3%]) compared to pre-diabetic subjects [9.1%] (p = 0.0095) and non-diabetic subjects [10.4%] (p = 0.0463). A significant decrease in filarial antigen load (p = 0.04) was also seen among diabetic subjects. Serum cytokine levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines—IL-6 and GM-CSF—were significantly lower in diabetic subjects who were LF positive, compared to those who were LF negative. There were, however, no significant differences in the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines—IL-10, IL-13 and TGF-β—between the two groups. Although a direct causal link has yet to be shown, there appears to be a striking inverse relationship between the prevalence of LF and diabetes, which is reflected by a diminished pro-inflammatory cytokine response in Asian Indians with diabetes and concomitant LF