Antioxidant and acetylcholine esterase inhibition activity of the extract from Centella asiatica obtained by Ultrasound pre-treatment followed by Microwave-assisted extraction method

The extraction of compounds from Centella asiatica a member of the family Apiaceae by adopting Ultrasound assisted Extraction (UAE), Microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and Ultrasound pre-treatment followed by Microwave-assisted extraction were reported. The yield of the extract, phenol content, antioxidant activity and Acetylcholine esterase activity were found to be more in the extract obtained by Ultrasound pre-treatment followed by Microwave-assisted extraction method. The yield of the extract is more by 30.8% to the UAE and MAE methods. The phenol content is 1289 ± 0.57 μg GAE/mL which is 27% higher than the MAE method and 46% higher than the UAE method. HPLC analysis showed that the C. asiatica extract comprised of Madecassoside in major quantity followed by madecassic acid, asiatic acid and asiaticoside. In the antioxidant activity by DPPH assay and AChE inhibitory effect the IC50, value for C. asiatica extract obtained by UAE pre-treated and followed by MAE method is 38.24 μg mL−1 and 26.7±0.49 mg/mL respectively which are substantially higher than the other two methods. So, Ultrasound pre-treatment followed by Microwave-assisted extraction method is found to be a preferable method to get the desired compounds from C. asiatica

Mean and Variance of the Time to Recruitment in a Two Graded Manpower System with Two Thresholds for the Organization

In this paper, a two graded manpower system which is subject to exit of personnel due to the policy decisions taken in the system is considered. There is an associated loss of manpower if a person quits. As the exit of personnel is unpredictable, a new recruitment policy involving two thresholds – one is optional and the other one mandatory is suggested to enable the organization to plan its decision on recruitment. Based on shock model approach, two mathematical models are constructed using a univariate policy of recruitment. The analytical expression for the mean and variance of the time to recruitment are obtained when i) the loss of manpower processes in grades 1& 2 form separately a sequence of independent and identically distributed exponential random variables ii) the inter-decision times are independent and identically distributed exponential random variables and iii) the optional and mandatory thresholds in both the grades follow exponential, exponentiated exponential distribution and the distribution having SCBZ property respectively. The results are numerically illustrated for both the models and relevant conclusions are made. ÂÂ

Study of Cardiac Abnormalities in HIV Patients and their Correlation with CD4 Count

INTRODUCTION: Human immunodeficiency virus is a retrovirus that affects all systems in the body. Among this cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of non HIV related death in HIV patients. Although many cardiovascular complications have been described like pulmonary hypertension, systemic hypertension, infective endocarditis and accelerated atherosclerosis in HIV patients, the most common complications include diastolic dysfunction, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, pericardial effusion, dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. As the disease progresses the CD4 count declines which increases the cardiovascular complications leading to death. So echocardiographic screening should be performed in all HIV patients with low CD4 count for early detection and management of the complications. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To assess the cardiac abnormalities such as systlolic dysfunction, diastolic dysfunction, dilated cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, pulmonary hypertension and infective endocarditis and their correlation with CD4 count. 2. To evaluate whether this parameter can be used as prognostic marker of disease progression in HIV patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study Population: This study was conducted among 200 HIV positive patients coming to ART Centre, Govt. Rajaji Hospital, Madurai. Study Protocol: Cases were classified as HIV patients into four groups depending upon the CD4 cell count >500 ( stage1),CD4 cell count 200 – 500 (stage 2), and 50-200(stage 3) and <50 (stage 4). CD4 count, ECG and Echocardiograrm were done in all the participants of the study. RESULTS: In this study pericardial effusion was the most common finding and was present in 15% of the study population, followed by systolic dysfunction (13%),diastolic dysfunction (11.5%) and dilated cardiomyopathy (9%) and all were statistically significant. All cardiac abnormalities were present in patients in stage 3&4 with low CD4 count (<200/microlitre). CONCLUSION: Cardiovascular abnormalities are more common and predictable complications in late stages of HIV infection. So all HIV patients with low CD4 count (<200/microlitre) should be screened for cardiac abnormalities. Early diagnosis and management of these complications is associated with increased survival rates and clinical outcomes in HIV patients

Preparation, characterization, ac conductivity and permittivity studies on vitreous M 4 AlCdP 3 O 12 (M = Li, Na, K) system

Abstract Vitreous M 4 AlCdP 3 O 12 (M = Li, Na, K) NASICON-type materials are synthesized, characterized and their electrical properties are reported at different temperatures in the frequency range of 42 Hz to 1 MHz. Ac conductivity and permittivity data are analyzed by using conductivity formalism. The dc conductivity and hopping frequency are thermally activated and their activation energies found to be in the range of 0.79-0.85 eV. The variation of dielectric permittivity with frequency is attributed to ion diffusion and polarization occurring in the NASICONtype vitreous materials. Scaling in conductivity and permittivity shows that the relaxation mechanisms are independent of temperature for the NASICON-type vitreous materials

Combined acute hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic clamp induced profibrotic and proinflammatory responses in the kidney

Increase in matrix protein content in the kidney is a cardinal feature of diabetic kidney disease. While renal matrix protein content is increased by chronic hyperglycemia, whether it is regulated by acute elevation of glucose and insulin has not been addressed. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether short duration of combined hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, mimicking the metabolic environment of prediabetes and early type 2 diabetes, induces kidney injury. Normal rats were subjected to either saline infusion (control, n = 4) or 7 h of combined hyperglycemic- hyperinsulinemic clamp (HG+HI clamp; n = 6). During the clamp, plasma glucose and plasma insulin were maintained at about 350 mg/dl and 16 ng/ml, respectively. HG+HI clamp increased the expression of renal cortical transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and renal matrix proteins, laminin and fibronectin. This was associated with the activation of SMAD3, Akt, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complexes, and ERK signaling pathways and their downstream target events in the initiation and elongation phases of mRNA translation, an important step in protein synthesis. Additionally, HG+HI clamp provoked renal inflammation as shown by the activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and infiltration of CD68-positive monocytes. Urinary F2t isoprostane excretion, an index of renal oxidant stress, was increased in the HG+HI clamp rats. We conclude that even a short duration of hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia contributes to activation of pathways that regulate matrix protein synthesis, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the kidney. This finding could have implications for the control of short-term rises in blood glucose in diabetic individuals at risk of developing kidney disease. © 2014 the American Physiological Society

Plk1/Polo Phosphorylates Sas-4 at the Onset of Mitosis for an Efficient Recruitment of Pericentriolar Material to Centrosomes

Centrosomes are the major microtubule-organizing centers, consisting of centrioles surrounded by a pericentriolar material (PCM). Centrosomal PCM is spatiotemporally regulated to be minimal during interphase and expands as cells enter mitosis. It is unclear how PCM expansion is initiated at the onset of mitosis. Here, we identify that, in Drosophila, Plk1/Polo kinase phosphorylates the conserved centrosomal protein Sas-4 in vitro. This phosphorylation appears to occur at the onset of mitosis, enabling Sas-4's localization to expand outward from meiotic and mitotic centrosomes. The Plk1/Polo kinase site of Sas-4 is then required for an efficient recruitment of Cnn and gamma-tubulin, bona fide PCM proteins that are essential for PCM expansion and centrosome maturation. Point mutations at Plk1/Polo sites of Sas-4 affect neither centrosome structure nor centriole duplication but specifically reduce the affinity to bind Cnn and gamma-tubulin. These observations identify Plk1/Polo kinase regulation of Sas-4 as essential for efficient PCM expansion

Unified reconstruction and motion estimation in cardiac perfusion MRI

ABSTRACT We introduce a novel unifying approach to jointly estimate the motion and the dynamic images in first pass cardiac perfusion MR imaging. We formulate the recovery as an energy minimization scheme using a unified objective function that combines data consistency, spatial smoothness, motion and contrast dynamics penalties. We introduce a variable splitting strategy to simplify the objective function into multiple sub problems, which are solved using simple algorithms. These sub-problems are solved in an iterative manner using efficient continuation strategies. Preliminary validation using a numerical phantom and in-vivo perfusion data demonstrate the utility of the proposed scheme in recovering the perfusion images from considerably under-sampled data

Phylogenomics of Porites from the Arabian Peninsula

The advent of high throughput sequencing technologies provides an opportunity to resolve phylogenetic relationships among closely related species. By incorporating hundreds to thousands of unlinked loci and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), phylogenomic analyses have a far greater potential to resolve species boundaries than approaches that rely on only a few markers. Scleractinian taxa have proved challenging to identify using traditional morphological approaches and many groups lack an adequate set of molecular markers to investigate their phylogenies. Here, we examine the potential of Restriction-site Associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) to investigate phylogenetic relationships and species limits within the scleractinian coral genus Porites. A total of 126 colonies were collected from 16 localities in the seas surrounding the Arabian Peninsula and ascribed to 12 nominal and two unknown species based on their morphology. Reference mapping was used to retrieve and compare nearly complete mitochondrial genomes, ribosomal DNA, and histone loci. De novo assembly and reference mapping to the P. lobata coral transcriptome were compared and used to obtain thousands of genome-wide loci and SNPs. A suite of species discovery methods (phylogenetic, ordination, and clustering analyses) and species delimitation approaches (coalescent-based, species tree, and Bayesian Factor delimitation) suggested the presence of eight molecular lineages, one of which included six morphospecies. Our phylogenomic approach provided a fully supported phylogeny of Porites from the Arabian Peninsula, suggesting the power of RADseq data to solve the species delineation problem in this speciose coral genus