Molecular cloning and characterization of protein disulfide isomerase of Brugia malayi, a human lymphatic filarial parasite

Lymphatic filariasis results in an altered lymphatic system and the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, serious disability and social stigma. Effective vaccines are still not available nowadays, drugs against the disease is required. Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is an essential catalyst of the endoplasmic reticulum which is involved in folding and chaperone activities in different biological systems. Here, we report the enzymatic characterization of a Brugia malayi Protein disulfide isomerase (BmPDI), which was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Western blotting analysis showed the recombinant BmPDI could be recognized by anti-BmPDI Rabbit serum. The rBmPDI exhibited an optimum activity at pH 8 and 40 °C. The enzyme was inhibited by aurin and PDI inhibitor. Recombinant BmPDI showed interaction with recombinant Brugia malayi calreticulin (rBmCRT). The three-dimensional model for BmPDI and BmCRT was generated by homology modelling. A total of 25 hydrogen bonds were found to be formed between two interfaces. There are 259 non-bonded contacts present in the BmPDI-BmCRT complex and 12 salt bridges were formed in the interaction

Site-specific and mRNA-specific control of accurate mRNA editing by a helicase complex in trypanosomes

Trypanosome U-insertion/deletion RNA editing in mitochondrial mRNAs involves guide RNAs (gRNAs) and the auxiliary RNA editing substrate binding complex (RESC) and RNA editing helicase 2 complex (REH2C). RESC and REH2C stably copurify with editing mRNAs but the functional interplay between these complexes remains unclear. Most steady-state mRNAs are partially edited and include misedited “junction” regions that match neither pre-mRNA nor fully edited transcripts. Editing specificity is central to mitochondrial RNA maturation and function, but its basic control mechanisms remain unclear. Here we applied a novel nucleotide-resolution RNA-seq approach to examine ribosomal protein subunit 12 (RPS12) and ATPase subunit 6 (A6) mRNA transcripts. We directly compared transcripts associated with RESC and REH2C to those found in total mitochondrial RNA. RESC-associated transcripts exhibited site-preferential enrichments in total and accurate edits. REH2C loss-of-function induced similar substrate-specific and site-specific editing effects in total and RESC-associated RNA. It decreased total editing primarily at RPS12 5′ positions but increased total editing at examined A6 3′ positions. REH2C loss-of-function caused site-preferential loss of accurate editing in both transcripts. However, changes in total or accurate edits did not necessarily involve common sites. A few 5′ nucleotides of the initiating gRNA (gRNA-1) directed accurate editing in both transcripts. However, in RPS12, two conserved 3′-terminal adenines in gRNA-1 could direct a noncanonical 2U-insertion that causes major pausing in 3′–5′ progression. In A6, a noncanonical sequence element that depends on REH2C in a region normally targeted by the 3′ half of gRNA-1 may hinder early editing progression. Overall, we defined transcript-specific effects of REH2C loss

Fluidised and Convective Drying Kinetics of Onion Slices

Onion (Alium cepa L.) is an important tuber crop widely used for culinary purposes and pharmaceutical industries. Dried onion powder has gained commercial importance in food industry. The fluidized and convective drying techniques were used for dehydration of onion and the effect of temperature and drying mode on the drying of onion slices were investigated. Increase in drying temperature from 50 to 70°C decreased the drying time from 480 to 360 min under fluidised drying and from 1200 to 900 min under convection drying. Four thin-layer drying equations were investigated for their suitability to describe the drying behaviour of onion slices. The Page model showed the best fit with high values for the coefficient of determination for fluidised and convective drying low values ofχ 2 , EMB and ERMS. Activation energy for fluidised and convective air drying was 44.13 and 11.20 kJ.mol-1, respectively. Quality parameters, like colour, water activity and flavour strength were found to be better for fluidised drying compared to convective type. However, the quality of dried onions was superior at 60oC in both drying modes

Development of Abrasive Peeler cum Polisher for Ginger

World\u27s 50% ginger is produced in India. Presently 2,63,170 MT of ginger is produced from an area of 77,610 ha. Peeling of ginger is a very tedious and time-consuming unit operation. Generally, ginger is peeled with knife or by rubbing against gunny bags or bamboo mats in order to fasten the drying process. Due care is required to avoid the loss of material during peeling. A simple hand operated abrasion type ginger peeler cum polisher was developed for facilitating the peeling and polishing at farm level. The machine has a perforated drum lined with emery strips at spacing of 25 mm. The drum is rotated manually at 45-50 rpm. It was observed that 74-81% peeling could be achieved with 5 kg batch in 8 to 12 min time. Around 2.5 to 3.8% material loss was recorded. Effective output of machine was found as 25-30 kg/h against 30 and 50 kg/day through manual and gunny bag peeling. The machine was also evaluated for polishing the dried rhizomes and it was found that surface of rhizomes gets smoothened due to friction and abrasion. The capacity for polishing was worked out as 50-60 kg/h. The cost of machine has been estimated as Rs 3000

Shelf Life Studies on Potato and Tomato under Evaporative Cooled Storage Structure in Southern Rajasthan

Two most common vegetables viz. potato (var. Kufri Ashoka) and tomato (var. Pusa Ruby) were stored in two tonne capacity evaporative cooling storage structure (ECSS) of CIPHET, Ludhiana design constructed at the Post Harvest Technology Centre, CTAE, Udaipur. Microbial load in form of total viable bacterial count and fungal count were recorded at fortnightly / weekly interval taking in to consideration 10% physiological loss in weight under ECSS as acceptable level. Changes in reducing sugar and soluble protein were also estimated. Total viable bacterial count on potato and tomato were lower in ECSS in comparison to ambient storage. The reducing sugar content and soluble protein content change was slower in ECSS than that at ambient storage in both the stored vegetables. The physiological loss in weight (PLW) was about 6 and 11% less in ECSS compared to ambient for potato and tomato storage, respectively

Farm Women's Involvement in Agricultural Transformation in the Peddapalli District of Telangana, India

The present study was carried out in the Peddappalli district of Telangana, India. The paper shed light on participation levels, some cognitive characteristics, and prevalent gender discrimination. The goal of this study was to examine farm women's participation in agriculture, which would aid in the collection of systematic data and trends across Telangana state. The personal interview method was used, with a questionnaire prepared on independent (socioeconomic profile) and dependent variables (knowledge, decision-making, gender discrimination, constraints). The study's major findings concluded that the majority of the women (39.16%) were middle-aged, had a medium annual income (45.00%), and participated in agricultural activities such as weeding (60.83%), transplanting (59.17%), and harvesting (59.16%). Despite having a moderate (93.33%) understanding of agricultural activities, gender discrimination was prevalent in rice and vegetable cultivation practices. Women were observed making individual decisions in agricultural activities such as growing seasons (79.10%) and manuring time (70.83%). Along with all of this, several constraints were identified and possible suggestions were given. As a result, the study is expected to contribute to the scarcity of literature and assist the government in addressing the issues confronting farm women

Multiple Amino acid Sequence alignment of BmCRT with parasites and human CRT.

<p>Six C1q binding sites (green shading), C terminal ER targeting sequences (Grey shading), Putative nuclear localization signal site (Red shading) and CRT signature motifs (yellow shading) are indicated.</p