PROTECTING OUTCOME OF ETHYL ACETATE FRACTION OF AQUEOUS-METHANOL: 40:60 EXTRACT OF SEED OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS HOUTT. IN STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETIC RAT: A DOSE DEPENDENT STUDY

Objective: The investigation has been conducted to find out the threshold dose of ethyl acetate fraction prepared from aqueous-methanol (40:60) extract of seed of Myristica fragrans (Houtt.) from the dose dependent experiment by noting the remedial effects of the said fraction on different complications developed in streptozotocin induced diabetic rat.Methods: Diabetic condition was made by single intramascular injection of streptozotocin at a dose of 4 mg/0.1 ml citrate buffer/100 g body weight. Treatment was conducted at different doses for 28 d on diabetic rat. Efficacy of the fraction on fasting blood glucose (FBG) and serum insulin levels, activities of key carbohydrate metabolic enzymes such as hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydogenase, glucose-6-phosphatase of hepatic and skeletomuscular tissue as well as antioxidative enzymes like catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) in connection with the levels of oxidative stress end products such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), conjugated diene (CD) in hepatic and renal tissue and gene expression of hexokinase-1, SOD, Bax, Bcl-2 in hepatic tissue were assessed.Results: After different doses of fraction treatment to the diabetic animals; FBG, serum insulin levels and activities of carbohydrate metabolic enzymes i.e. hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphatase were rectified towards the control at the level of p<0.05. There is a significant (p<0.05) recovery in the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and SOD in respect to the vehicle treated diabetic group. Oxidative stress end products such as CD and TBARS levels were increased significantly (p<0.05) in vehicle treated diabetic rats and was rectified significantly (p<0.05) after fraction treatment at the dose of 10 mg or 20 mg or 40 mg fraction treated group. Gene expression of hexokinase-1, superoxide dismutase, bax and bcl-2 was rectified towards vehicle treated control significantly at the level of p<0.05 after treatment of different doses of fractions to the diabetic animals.Conclusion: The study indicates that the seeds of Myristica fragrans at the dose of 20 mg/100 g body weight possess most effective outcome to manage diabetic disorders in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

On the Optical Monitoring of Anemia Severity Levels

Anemia is a prevalent medical condition that seriously a ects millions of people all over the world. In many regions, not only its initial detection, but also its monitoring are hindered by the limited access to laboratory facilities. This situation has motivated the development of a wide range of optical de- vices and procedures to assist physicians in these tasks. Although noticeable progress has been achieved in this area, the search for reliable, low-cost and risk-free solutions still continues, and the strengthening of the knowledge base about this disorder and its e ects is essential for the success of these initiatives. In this paper, we contribute to these e orts by closely examining the sensitivity of human skin hyperspectral responses (within and outside the visible region of the light spectrum) to reduced hemoglobin concentrations associated with increasing anemia severity levels. This investigation, which involves skin specimens with distinct biophysical and morphological charac- teristics, is supported by controlled in silico experiments performed using a predictive light transport model and measured data reported in the biomed- ical literature. We also propose a noninvasive procedure to be employed in the monitoring of this condition at the point-of-care

Recombinant Promoter (MUASCsV8CP) Driven Totiviral Killer Protein 4 (KP4) Imparts Resistance Against Fungal Pathogens in Transgenic Tobacco

Development of disease-resistant plant varieties achieved by engineering anti-microbial transgenes under the control of strong promoters can suffice the inhibition of pathogen growth and simultaneously ensure enhanced crop production. For evaluating the prospect of such strong promoters, we comprehensively characterized the full-length transcript promoter of Cassava Vein Mosaic Virus (CsVMV; -565 to +166) and identified CsVMV8 (-215 to +166) as the highest expressing fragment in both transient and transgenic assays. Further, we designed a new chimeric promoter ‘MUASCsV8CP’ through inter-molecular hybridization among the upstream activation sequence (UAS) of Mirabilis Mosaic Virus (MMV; -297 to -38) and CsVMV8, as the core promoter (CP). The MUASCsV8CP was found to be ∼2.2 and ∼2.4 times stronger than the CsVMV8 and CaMV35S promoters, respectively, while its activity was found to be equivalent to that of the CaMV35S2 promoter. Furthermore, we generated transgenic tobacco plants expressing the totiviral ‘Killer protein KP4’ (KP4) under the control of the MUASCsV8CP promoter. Recombinant KP4 was found to accumulate both in the cytoplasm and apoplast of plant cells. The agar-based killing zone assays revealed enhanced resistance of plant-derived KP4 against two deuteromycetous foliar pathogenic fungi viz. Alternaria alternata and Phoma exigua var. exigua. Also, transgenic plants expressing KP4 inhibited the growth progression of these fungi and conferred significant fungal resistance in detached-leaf and whole plant assays. Taken together, we establish the potential of engineering “in-built” fungal stress-tolerance in plants by expressing KP4 under a novel chimeric caulimoviral promoter in a transgenic approach

Prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus and its relationship with various risk factors in a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal with special reference to tribal population, India

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common medical complication and metabolic disorder of pregnancy. The aim and objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of GDM and its relationship with various risk factors with special reference to tribal population.Methods: The study was done in 200 patients between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation, attending antenatal outdoor in a tertiary care hospital of West Bengal.  These patients were given 75gm oral glucose irrespective of the last meal and their plasma glucose was estimated at 2hours. Patients with plasma glucose values ≥140 mg/dl were labelled as GDM. Patients who were diabetic before pregnancy or whose pre pregnancy body mass index was not known or was in labour or had chronic disease, were not included in the study.Results: Prevalence of GDM was 11% in whole population while it was 14.63% and 10.06% in tribal and non-tribal population respectively.  Prevalence of GDM and its correlation with most of risk factors in previous pregnancies was found to be significant in both non-tribal and tribal population. Family history of diabetes mellitus was the most prevalent risk factor in both non-tribal (9.4%) and tribal population (14.63%). There was no single most common risk factor among GDM patients found as there were multiple risk factors present with same frequency in both tribal and non-tribal population.Conclusions: The prevalence of GDM is 14.63% in the tribal population and 10.06% in non-tribal population which is not statically significant (P<0.407). The relation between the prevalence of GDM and risk factors was found to be significant for most of the risk factors

Immobilized enzymes as potent antibiofilm agent

Biofilm has been a point of concern in hospitals and various industries. They not only cause various chronic infections but are also responsible for the degradation of various medical appliances. Since the last decade, various alternate strategies are being adopted to combat the biofilm formed on various biotic and abiotic surfaces. The use of enzymes as a potent anti-fouling agent is proved to be of utmost importance as the enzymes can inhibit biofilm formation in an eco-friendly and cost-effective way. The physical and chemical immobilization of the enzyme not only leads to the improvement of thermostability and reusability of the enzyme, but also gains better efficiency of biofilm removal. Immobilization of amylase, cellobiohydrolase, pectinase, subtilisin A and β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (DspB) are proved to be most effective in inhibition of biofilm formation and removal of matured biofilm than their free forms. Hence, these immobilized enzymes provide greater eradication of biofilm formed on various surfaces and are coming up to be the potent antibiofilm agent.Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Complexity in the hybridization physics revealed by depth-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of single crystalline novel Kondo lattice systems, CeCuX2_2 (X = As/Sb)

We investigate the electronic structure of a novel Kondo lattice system CeCuX2 (X = As/Sb) employing high resolution depth-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of high quality single crystalline materials. CeCuSb2 and CeCuAs2 represent different regimes of the Doniach phase diagram exhibiting Kondo-like transport properties and CeCuSb2 is antiferromagnetic (TN ~ 6.9 K) while CeCuAs$_2$ does not show long-range magnetic order down to the lowest temperature studied. In this study, samples were cleaved in ultrahigh vacuum before the photoemission measurements and the spectra at different surface sensitivity establish the pnictogen layer having squarenet structure as the terminated surface which is weakly bound to the other layers. Cu 2p and As 2p spectra show spin-orbit split sharp peaks along with features due to plasmon excitations. Ce 3d spectra exhibit multiple features due to the hybridization of the Ce 4f/5d states with the valence states. While overall lineshape of the bulk spectral functions look similar in both the cases, the surface spectra are very different; the surface-bulk difference is significantly weaker in CeCuAs2 compared to that observed in CeCuSb2. A distinct low binding energy peak is observed in the Ce 3d spectra akin to the scenario observed in cuprates and manganites due to the Zhang-Rice singlets and/or high degree of itineracy of the conduction holes. The valence band spectra of CeCuSb$_2$ manifest highly metallic phase. In CeCuAs2, intensity at the Fermi level is significantly small suggesting a pseudogap-type behavior. These results bring out an interesting scenario emphasizing the importance and subtlety of hybridization physics underlying the exoticity of this novel Kondo system