Role of laparoscopic surgery in cancer of stomach: Our early experience

Purpose: To study the clinical outcome and scope of laparoscopic management in patients of cancer stomach. Methods: This is a prospective study of our first 25 patients of cancer stomach managed laparoscopically. Following procedures were undertaken: 1) Gastric resection in resectable cases; 2) Palliative bypass; 3) Tumor/ nodal/ peritoneal/ any other/ biopsy in cases of unresectable tumors. Results: Growth was resectable in 10 (40%) patients, and unresectable in 15 (60%) patients. Diagnostic laparoscopy had sensitivity of 100%, while other modalities of investigation were not totally useful in 1/3 to ½ of cases. Laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy was done in 5 (20%) patients, laparoscopy assisted distal partial gastrectomy was performed in 8 (32%) patients while totally laparoscopic gastrectomy was possible in 1 (4%) patient. Long term follow up was observed. Conclusion: In cancer stomach laparoscopy is a safe, effective, and cost effective means of directing appropriate therapy especially in patients requiring diagnostic, staging and palliative procedures

The effects of ethanol and silymarin treatment during gestation on spatial working memory.

BACKGROUND: Using a rat model we have found that the bioflavonoid silymarin (SY) ameliorates some of the negative consequences of in utero exposure to ethanol (EtOH). In the current study our aim was to determine if spatial working memory (SWM) was impaired in offspring whose mothers were maintained on a liquid diet containing EtOH during different gestational weeks. We also determined if SWM was altered with a concomitant administration of SY with EtOH during specific gestational weeks. METHODS: We provided pregnant Fischer/344 rats with liquid diets containing 35% EtOH derived calories (EDC) during specific weeks of the gestational period. A silymarin/phospholipid compound containing 29.8% silybin co-administered with EtOH was also administered during specific weeks of the gestational period. We tested SWM of the offspring with a radial arm maze on postnatal day (PND) 60. After testing the rats were sacrificed and their brains perfused for later analysis. RESULTS: We observed SWM deficits, as well as a significantly lower brain weight in female offspring born of mothers treated with EtOH during the third week of gestation in comparison to mothers treated during either the first or second weeks of gestation. Rats from any group receiving EtOH in co-administration with SY showed no significant deficits in SWM. CONCLUSION: EtOH treatment during the last week of gestation had the greatest impact on SWM. The addition of SY to the EtOH liquid diet appeared to ameliorate the EtOH-induced learning deficits

Deciphering ligand specificity of a Clostridium thermocellum family 35 carbohydrate binding module (CtCBM35) for Gluco- and Galacto- Substituted mannans and Its calcium induced stability

Articles in International JournalsThis study investigated the role of CBM35 from Clostridium thermocellum (CtCBM35) in polysaccharide recognition. CtCBM35 was cloned into pET28a (+) vector with an engineered His6 tag and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. A homogenous 15 kDa protein was purified by immobilized metal ion chromatography (IMAC). Ligand binding analysis of CtCBM35 was carried out by affinity electrophoresis using various soluble ligands. CtCBM35 showed a manno-configured ligand specific binding displaying significant association with konjac glucomannan (Ka = 14.3×104 M−1), carob galactomannan (Ka = 12.4×104 M−1) and negligible association (Ka = 12 µM−1) with insoluble mannan. Binding of CtCBM35 with polysaccharides which was calcium dependent exhibited two fold higher association in presence of 10 mM Ca2+ ion with konjac glucomannan (Ka = 41×104 M−1) and carob galactomannan (Ka = 30×104 M−1). The polysaccharide binding was further investigated by fluorescence spectrophotometric studies. On binding with carob galactomannan and konjac glucomannan the conformation of CtCBM35 changed significantly with regular 21 nm peak shifts towards lower quantum yield. The degree of association (Ka) with konjac glucomannan and carob galactomannan, 14.3×104 M−1 and 11.4×104 M−1, respectively, corroborated the findings from affinity electrophoresis. The association of CtCBM35with konjac glucomannan led to higher free energy of binding (ΔG) −25 kJ mole−1 as compared to carob galactomannan (ΔG) −22 kJ mole−1. On binding CtCBM35 with konjac glucomannan and carob galactomannan the hydrodynamic radius (RH) as analysed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) study, increased to 8 nm and 6 nm, respectively, from 4.25 nm in absence of ligand. The presence of 10 mM Ca2+ ions imparted stiffer orientation of CtCBM35 particles with increased RH of 4.52 nm. Due to such stiffer orientation CtCBM35 became more thermostable and its melting temperature was shifted to 70°C from initial 50°C

North American Wild Relatives of Grain Crops

The wild-growing relatives of the grain crops are useful for long-term worldwide crop improvement research. There are neglected examples that should be accessioned as living seeds in gene banks. Some of the grain crops, amaranth, barnyard millet, proso millet, quinoa, and foxtail millet, have understudied unique and potentially useful crop wild relatives in North America. Other grain crops, barley, buckwheat, and oats, have fewer relatives in North America that are mostly weeds from other continents with more diverse crop wild relatives. The expanding abilities of genomic science are a reason to accession the wild species since there are improved ways to study evolution within genera and make use of wide gene pools. Rare wild species, especially quinoa relatives in North American, should be acquired by gene banks in cooperation with biologists that already study and conserve at-risk plant populations. Many of the grain crop wild relatives are weeds that have evolved herbicide resistance that could be used in breeding new herbicide-resistant cultivars, so well-documented examples should be accessioned and also vouchered in gene banks

Role of laparoscopic surgery in cancer of stomach: Our early experience

Purpose: To study the clinical outcome and scope of laparoscopic management in patients of cancer stomach. Methods: This is a prospective study of our first 25 patients of cancer stomach managed laparoscopically. Following procedures were undertaken: 1) Gastric resection in resectable cases; 2) Palliative bypass; 3) Tumor/ nodal/ peritoneal/ any other/ biopsy in cases of unresectable tumors. Results: Growth was resectable in 10 (40%) patients, and unresectable in 15 (60%) patients. Diagnostic laparoscopy had sensitivity of 100%, while other modalities of investigation were not totally useful in 1/3 to ½ of cases. Laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy was done in 5 (20%) patients, laparoscopy assisted distal partial gastrectomy was performed in 8 (32%) patients while totally laparoscopic gastrectomy was possible in 1 (4%) patient. Long term follow up was observed. Conclusion: In cancer stomach laparoscopy is a safe, effective, and cost effective means of directing appropriate therapy especially in patients requiring diagnostic, staging and palliative procedures.</p

Biochemical changes in corms of saffron crocus(crocus sativus L.)during dormancy and sprouting.

A study is made of periodic quantitative changes occurring in the level of certain tissue constituents and in the activity of some enzymes in corms of crocus during dormancy and sprouting. The period of study is arbitrarily divided into 5 stages viz.; Stage-1-dormancy and sprouting. Stage-2 initiation and differentiation of led primordia, Stage-3-initiation and differentiation of floral primordia, Stage-4-elongation growth of perianth tube, and Stage-5-bud break and floral anthesi

Influence of GA3 and NAA on certain carbohydrate fractions in corms of saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.) during development

Application of gibberellic acid (GA3) and napthaleneacetic acid (NAA) to corms of saffron crocus (Crocus sativus L.) markedly influenced degradation of reserve carbohydrates in the corm tissues. GA3 stimulated the breakdown of starch and promoted the accumulation of soluble sugars, especially sucrose. Although NAA treatment stimulated starch breakdown for the first 14 days after the treatment, the effect was less pronounced as compared to that of GA3. NAA treatment promoted the accumulation of reducing sugars but suppressed accumulation of non reducing sugars in the corm tissues. Corms treated with GA3 showed an increased accumulation of total pentoses and total ketoses. In NAA treated corms, accumulation of total pentoses was stimulated but that of total ketoses was suppressed. The effects of GA3 and NAA on carbohydrate changes in the corm tissues are discussed in the light of their effects on bud development

Evolutionary divergence in Chenopodium and validation of SNPs in chloroplast rbcL and matk genes by allele-specific PCR for development of Chenopodium quinoa-specific markers

The genus Chenopodium comprises about 150 species, of which Chenopodium quinoa and C. album are important for their nutritional value. Evaluation of variation in qualitative morphological traits of plants and SNPs in chloroplast rbcL and matK gene sequences in 19 accessions representing C. quinoa and C. album indicated that the accessions IC-411824 and IC-411825, which have white seeds, belong to C. quinoa rather than C. album. This observation was also supported by a time tree that indicated IC-411824 and IC-411825 to be a sister clade to accessions of C. quinoa with an estimated age of 1.2 Mya. Whereas multiple alignments of rbcL gene sequences from the 19 accessions revealed 1.26% parsimony-informative sites with 0.68% interspecific sequence diversity, alignment of nucleotide sequences of amplicons representing the matK gene revealed 4.97% parsimony-informative sites and 2.81% interspecific sequence diversity. Validation of SNPs in the cp rbcL and matK regions of 36 accessions belonging to C. quinoa and C. album was performed by allele-specific PCR with primers carrying a single base change at the 3′ end. We report the first C. quinoa-specific SNP-based primer, R1RQ-AFR, designed from rbcL sequences, that could differentiate quinoa from 64 genera including 13 species of the genus Chenopodium. With an estimated age of 10.5–4.1 million years (Myr), the Himalayan chenopods are evolutionarily younger than the Andean chenopods. The results establish the paraphyletic origin of the genus Chenopodium

Characterization of Somatic Embryogenesis in Sandalwood (Santalum album L.)

In the synchronous embryogenesis system of sandalwood developed in our laboratory, we observed that the early events of differentiation from freshly induced callus (stage 0) are accomplished in three distinct stages viz., preglobular masses (stage 1), globular embryos (stage 2), and bipolar embryos (stage 3). Transition from stage 0 to 1 was accomplished using 2,4-D and involves a stage specific appearance of two polypeptides of 15 and 30 kDa molecular weight. A 24 kDa polypeptide that was detected as a marked band in extracts of primary callus was not detected in stages 1, 2, and 3. Further, the tissue level of a 50 kDa glycoprotein decreased during transition from stage 2 to stage 3. However, the levels of glycoproteins in the medium were markedly higher in stage 0 cultures compared to those in stage 1. The activities of a protein kinase, glycosidase, and xylanase increased markedly with progressing embryogenesis. Our observations suggest that in addition to being controlled at the level of stage-specific gene expression, somatic embryogenesis in sandalwood is also regulated at the level of controls on cell wall flexibility and posttranslational changes in the pool of preexisting proteins

Amino acid sequence of the basic subunit of 13S globulin of buckwheat

A 26 kDa basic subunit of 13S globulin has been purified from grains of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench). The amino acid composition of the protein closely matches the W.H.O. recommended values for a nutritionally balanced protein. The sequence of 17 N-terminal amino acid residues of the protein revealed 73.3 and 66.7% homology with soya bean glycinin and pea legumin, respectively