The Rydberg 3p multiplet structure of the fenchone C band absorption

The vibrationally structured 3p Rydberg excitation is identified and assigned in the VUV absorption spectrum of fenchone with an origin at 6.31 eV, below the prominent 6.4 eV C̃ (nominally 3p) band onset. This feature cannot, however, be observed in (2+1) REMPI spectra, as its relative excitation cross-section is much reduced in a two-photon transition. The 3p and 3p excitation thresholds, found to differ by only 10-30 meV, lie around 6.4 eV corresponding to the first intense C̃ band peak in both VUV and REMPI spectra. Calculations of vertical and adiabatic Rydberg excitation energies, photon absorption cross-sections, and vibrational profiles are used to support these interpretations

Evaluation of ajowain (Trachyspermum ammi L.) genotypes suitable for semi arid re- gions.

Forty two genotypes of ajowain collected from various sources were planted in RandomizedBlock Design in three replications at Research Farm, S.K.N. College of Agriculture, Jobner toassess the degree of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for seed yield perplant in ajowain (Trachyspermum ammi Linn.). The analysis of variance revealed significantdifferences among the genotypes for all the characters studied viz., day to 50% flowering,plant height, branches per plant, umbels per plant, umbellets per umbel, seeds per umbel,1000-seed weight, harvest index and seed yield per plant. The estimates of heritability (broadsense) were high for plant height,   umbels per plant, harvest index and seed yield per plantwhereas, it was moderate for days to 50% flowering, branches per plant, umbellets per umbel,seeds per umbel and 1000-seed weight. The genotypic coefficient of variation and geneticadvance expressed as percentage of mean were high for harvest index and seed yield perplant and moderate to low for umbels per plant, seeds per umbel, branches per plant, plantheight, days to 50% flowering, umbellets per umbel and 1000-seed weight, respectively. &nbsp

New validated RP-UPLC method for determination of aripiprazole assay in aripiprazole tablets

A simple, economic and time-efficient, isocratic reverse-phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic (RP-UPLC) method has been developed to analyze aripiprazole in tablets. Successful chromatographic elution and quantification of the drug was achieved on a Waters Symmetry C18, 100 mm x 4.6mm, 3.5 μm column, UV detection at 220 nm with a isocratic mobile phase comprising a mixture of component A (pH 2.5, phosphate buffer) and component B (methanol and acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) in the ratio of 45:55 (v/v). The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min. The method was validated for specificity, precision, linearity, accuracy, range, stability in analytical solution, robustness and system suitability. The linearity concentration range was 5.4-67.8 μg/mL with the correlation coefficient of 0.9997. Total elution time was about 6 min which allowed quantification of more than 100 samples per day.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Differential evolution of cell-associated virus in blood and genital tract of HIV-infected females undergoing HAART

AbstractPBMC and vaginal cell (VC) viruses were studied from 5 HIV-infected females for the presence of drug-resistance and non-drug resistance associated mutations. A 1318-bp fragment of polymerase gene was amplified from PBMC and VC proviral DNA. Four of the 5 PBMC viruses exhibited drug resistance-associated mutations in reverse transcriptase and protease genes, whereas only 2 VC viruses contained drug resistance-associated mutations. However, all 5 females showed non-drug resistance-associated mutations both in PBMC and VC virus suggesting continuous evolution of the virus in these compartments. The emergence of drug resistance was slower in PBMC and VC viruses than that observed in the cell-free plasma (P) and vaginal secretion (VS) viruses. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that VC virus was closer to PBMC virus than either cell-free viruses (P and VS) suggesting comparable evolution among cell-associated viruses

Neuroprotective effect of peroxiredoxin 6 against hypoxia-induced retinal ganglion cell damage

Abstract Background The ability to respond to changes in the extra-intracellular environment is prerequisite for cell survival. Cellular responses to the environment include elevating defense systems, such as the antioxidant defense system. Hypoxia-evoked reactive oxygen species (ROS)-driven oxidative stress is an underlying mechanism of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death that leads to blinding disorders. The protein peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) plays a pleiotropic role in negatively regulating death signaling in response to stressors, and thereby stabilizes cellular homeostasis. Results We have shown that RGCs exposed to hypoxia (1%) or hypoxia mimetic cobalt chloride display reduced expression of PRDX6 with higher ROS expression and activation of NF-κB. These cells undergo apoptosis, while cells with over-expression of PRDX6 demonstrate resistance against hypoxia-driven RGC death. The RGCs exposed to hypoxia either with 1% oxygen or cobalt chloride (0-400 μM), revealed ~30%-70% apoptotic cell death after 48 and 72 h of exposure. Western analysis and real-time PCR showed elevated expression of PRDX6 during hypoxia at 24 h, while PRDX6 protein and mRNA expression declined from 48 h onwards following hypoxia exposure. Concomitant with this, RGCs showed increased ROS expression and activation of NF-κB with IkB phosphorylation/degradation, as examined with H2DCF-DA and transactivation assays. These hypoxia-induced adverse reactions could be reversed by over-expression of PRDX6. Conclusion Because an abundance of PRDX6 in cells was able to attenuate hypoxia-induced RGC death, the protein could possibly be developed as a novel therapeutic agent acting to postpone RGC injury and delay the progression of glaucoma and other disorders caused by the increased-ROS-generated death signaling related to hypoxia.Peer Reviewe

Involvement of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, AKT/PI3K Signaling and NF-kappaB pathway in methamphetamine-mediated increase in IL-6 and IL-8 expression in astrocytes

Abstract Methamphetamine (MA) is one of the commonly used illicit drugs and the central nervous system toxicity of MA is well documented. The mechanisms contributing to this toxicity have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effect of MA on the expression levels of the proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines, IL-6 and IL-8 in an astrocytic cell line. The IL-6 and IL-8 RNA levels were found to increase by 4.6 ± 0.2 fold and 3.5 ± 0.2 fold, respectively, after exposure to MA for three days. Exposure of astrocytes to MA for 24 hours also caused increased expression of IL-6 and IL-8 at the level of both RNA and protein. The potential involvement of the nuclear factor-Kappa B (NF-κB) pathway was explored as one of the possible mechanism(s) responsible for the increased induction of IL-6 and IL-8 by MA. The MA-mediated increases in IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly abrogated by SC514. We also found that exposure of astrocytes to MA results in activation of NF-κB through the phosphorylation of IκB-α, followed by translocation of active NF-κB from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. In addition, treatment of cells with a specific inhibitor of metabotropic glutamate receptor-5 (mGluR5) revealed that MA-mediated expression levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were abrogated by this treatment by 42.6 ± 5.8% and 65.5 ± 3.5%, respectively. Also, LY294002, an inhibitor of the Akt/PI3K pathway, abrogated the MA-mediated induction of IL-6 and IL-8 by 77.9 ± 6.6% and 81.4 ± 2.6%, respectively. Thus, our study demonstrates the involvement of an NF-κB-mediated signaling mechanism in the induction of IL-6 and IL-8 by MA. Furthermore, we showed that blockade of mGluR5 can protect astrocytes from MA-mediated increases of proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines suggesting mGluR5 as a potential therapeutic target in treating MA-mediated neurotoxicity.Peer Reviewe

DNA barcoding of gobiid fishes (Perciformes, Gobioidei)

Gobiids constitute a major proportion of fish population in both tropical and temperate freshwater as well as marine ecosystem. Due to their small size, cryptic ecology and ambiguous morphological characters, gobiids diversity was not documented completely. In this study, DNA barcodes were generated for 11 species of gobiids, collected from the Ashtamudi Lake, India. The mitochondrial COI gene was amplified using universal primers and the resulted 650 bp amplicon was sequenced. The COI barcodes clearly distinguished all the species with high interspecific genetic distance values than intra-specific values based on K2P (Kimura 2 Parameter) model. The average genetic distance (K2P model) within species, genus and family was 1.2%, 22.2% and 25.3%, respectively. In addition to barcode-based species identification system, Nucleotide Diagnostic (ND) characters specific for species were identified. The Neighbor-Joining tree revealed distinct clusters shared by the species of same genera

Genetic divergence in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) germplasm

Thirty six genotypes of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum  ) were studied at Jobner(Rajasthan) for their genetic divergence following D2 analysis. The study indicated that thegenotypes were grouped into six clusters and there was lack of parallelism between geneticand geographic diversity. Intra cluster distance was highest in cluster I followed by clusterII. Inter cluster distance was maximum between cluster IV and II followed by III and II.Among the 10 characters studied for genetic divergence, fat content contributed the maxi-mum accounting for 70.3% of total divergence, followed by plant height (8.6%). The studyindicated that for obtaining heterotic response as well as better segregants, inter-matingbetween genotypes of diverse clusters may be undertaken in breeding programmes for im-proving yield and quality traits. &nbsp

LEDGF: survival of embryonic chick retinal photoreceptor cells

PURPOSE. Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF) is a novel adhesive, survival, and growth factor for lens epithelial cells, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and cos7 cells. In the presence of LEDGF, these cells acquire resistance to environmental stresses, and in the absence of LEDGF they die. The effects of LEDGF on survival of embryonic chick retinal photoreceptor cells under serum starvation and heat stress were studied. METHODS. The expression pattern of LEDGF in embryonic chick retinal photoreceptor cells was investigated with protein blot analysis and immunohistochemistry using antibodies (Abs) to LEDGF. Retinal cells were cultured in serum-free medium for up to 6 days in the presence of varying amounts of LEDGF at 37°or 41°C. The photoreceptor cells were immunostained with Abs to arrestin and counted to evaluate the photoreceptor cell viability. Heat shock proteins in the cultured cells were quantified by protein blot analysis with Ab probes and semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. RESULTS. LEDGF was found predominantly in the nucleus of neuroretinal cells, including photoreceptor cells. In the presence of LEDGF, photoreceptor cells manifested increased resistance to serum starvation and thermal stress and survived for a longer period. The levels of heat shock protein 90 were elevated in those cells. Most retinal cells died in the absence of LEDGF