Screening of probiotic strains for development of ready- to -serve probioticated mango beverage

Out of the thirteen probiotic strains procured from different sources or isolated from the commercially available sachets, seven isolates showed growth in the ready to serve (RTS) mango beverage. Among the seven strains, only three strains, i.e., Lactobacillus helveticus MTCC 5463, L. rhamnosus MTCC 5946 and Saccharomyces boulardii showed significant growth in the mango beverage. These three strains were further evaluated for population build-up, physico-chemical and sensory evaluation parameters in the fermented mango beverage. Based on the results of sensory scores, minimum threshold population required for classification as probioticated beverage and physico-chemical characteristics, L. helveticus was used for probiotication of the RTS mango beverage. Mango beverage fermented with L. helveticus MTCC 5463 showed an average score of 7.34 on a hedonic scale of 9 for overall acceptability, had an acidity of 0.29%, sugar concentration of 7.6% and pH of 4.4. Probioticated mango beverage also had about 20 and 13% higher phenolics and flavonoids, respectively, compared to uninoculated RTS mango beverage. This study has shown that the RTS mango beverage inoculated with L. helveticus MTCC 5463 has potential for developing probioticated mangobeverage

Stage specific upregulation of antioxidant defence system in leaves for regulating drought tolerance in chickpea

Leaf is one of the early sensors for the drought stress and is important to study drought tolerance mechanism. Activities of antioxidative enzymes and status of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline and total phenols were studied in leaves of drought tolerant (PDG 3 and PDG 4) and susceptible (PBG 1, GPF 2, PBG 5, L 550 and BG1053) chickpea cultivars under irrigated and rainfed conditions at different development stages. In general, with the age of plant, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) increased but the activities of glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and peroxidase (POX) decreased in leaves. With some exceptions, in general, higher status of APX and POX in leaves at vegetative stage I (30 days after sowing) and II (60 days after sowing); GR at vegetative stage II and pre-flowering stage and SOD and CAT at seed filling stages in tolerant cultivars under drought stress reflected stage specific upregulation of antioxidant defence system in them. The relatively lower activities of APX and POX in old leaves during seed filling stage make them more prone to enhanced oxidative injury than the young leaves. Lower content of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde in leaves of tolerant cultivars during seed filling reflects the impact of antioxidant defence system operative at that time. The higher accumulation of proline and total phenol in leaves of tolerant cultivars might be playing important role in drought stress tolerance. These results indicated the importance of upregulation of different antioxidant enzymes at variable stages of leaf development

Enhanced α1 Microglobulin Secretion from Hepatitis E Virus ORF3-expressing Human Hepatoma Cells Is Mediated by the Tumor Susceptibility Gene 101

Viruses are known to exploit the host cell machinery for their benefit during different stages of their life cycle within the infected host. One of the major challenges for a virus during the early stages of infection is to escape recognition by the host immune system. Viruses have adopted many novel strategies to evade the host immune response or to create an immune suppressed environment. An earlier study in our laboratory has demonstrated that the ORF3 protein of the hepatitis E virus expedites the secretion of alpha1 microglobulin, an immunosuppressant molecule. Based on this observation, we proposed that enhanced secretion of alpha1 microglobulin may help maintain an immunosuppressed milieu around the infected hepatocyte (Tyagi, S., Surjit, M., Roy, A. K., Jameel, S., and Lal, S. K. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 29308-29319). In the present study, we discovered that the ability of the ORF3 protein to expedite alpha1 microglobulin secretion is attributed to the PSAP motif present at the C terminus of the former. The ORF3 protein was able to associate with the tumor susceptibility gene 101 (TSG101) through the PSAP motif. Further, a PSAP motif-mutated ORF3 protein was unable to associate with TSG101 and also lost its ability to enhance the secretion of alpha1 microglobulin. In addition, the ORF3 protein was found to associate simultaneously with TSG101 and alpha1 microglobulin because all three of them were co-precipitated as a ternary complex. Finally, a dominant negative mutant of the VPS4 protein was shown to block the enhanced alpha1 microglobulin secretion in ORF3-expressing hepatocytes. These results suggest a mechanism by which the ORF3 protein exploits the endosomal sorting machinery to enhance the secretion of an immunosuppressant molecule (alpha1 microglobulin) from the cultured hepatocytes

Craniofacial Analysis May Indicate Co-Occurrence of Skeletal Malocclusions and Associated Risks in Development of Cleft Lip and Palate

Non-syndromic orofacial clefts encompass a range of morphological changes affecting the oral cavity and the craniofacial skeleton, of which the genetic and epigenetic etiologic factors remain largely unknown. The objective of this study is to explore the contribution of underlying dentofacial deformities (also known as skeletal malocclusions) in the craniofacial morphology of non-syndromic cleft lip and palate patients (nsCLP). For that purpose, geometric morphometric analysis was performed using full skull cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of patients with nsCLP (n = 30), normocephalic controls (n = 60), as well as to sex- and ethnicity- matched patients with an equivalent dentofacial deformity (n = 30). Our outcome measures were shape differences among the groups quantified via principal component analysis and associated principal component loadings, as well as mean shape differences quantified via a Procrustes distance among groups. According to our results, despite the shape differences among all three groups, the nsCLP group shares many morphological similarities in the maxilla and mandible with the dentofacial deformity group. Therefore, the dentoskeletal phenotype in nsCLP could be the result of the cleft and the coexisting dentofacial deformity and not simply the impact of the cleft

Solar and Heliospheric Physics with the Square Kilometre Array

The fields of solar radiophysics and solar system radio physics, or radio heliophysics, will benefit immensely from an instrument with the capabilities projected for SKA. Potential applications include interplanetary scintillation (IPS), radio-burst tracking, and solar spectral radio imaging with a superior sensitivity. These will provide breakthrough new insights and results in topics of fundamental importance, such as the physics of impulsive energy releases, magnetohydrodynamic oscillations and turbulence, the dynamics of post-eruptive processes, energetic particle acceleration, the structure of the solar wind and the development and evolution of solar wind transients at distances up to and beyond the orbit of the Earth. The combination of the high spectral, time and spatial resolution and the unprecedented sensitivity of the SKA will radically advance our understanding of basic physical processes operating in solar and heliospheric plasmas and provide a solid foundation for the forecasting of space weather events.Comment: 15 pages, Proceedings of Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array (AASKA14). 9 -13 June, 2014. Giardini Naxos, Italy. Online at http://pos.sissa.it/cgi-bin/reader/conf.cgi?confid=215, id.16

Ubiquitin-dependent regulation of MEKK2/3-MEK5-ERK5 signaling module by XIAP and cIAP1

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are highly conserved protein kinase modules, and they control fundamental cellular processes. While the activation of MAPKs has been well studied, little is known on the mechanisms driving their inactivation. Here we uncover a role for ubiquitination in the inactivation of a MAPK module. Extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) is a unique, conserved member of the MAPK family and is activated in response to various stimuli through a three-tier cascade constituting MEK5 and MEKK2/3. We reveal an unexpected role for Inhibitors of Apoptosis Proteins (IAPs) in the inactivation of ERK5 pathway in a bimodal manner involving direct interaction and ubiquitination. XIAP directly interacts with MEKK2/3 and competes with PB1 domain-mediated binding to MEK5. XIAP and cIAP1 conjugate predominantly K63-linked ubiquitin chains to MEKK2 and MEKK3 which directly impede MEK5-ERK5 interaction in a trimeric complex leading to ERK5 inactivation. Consistently, loss of XIAP or cIAP1 by various strategies leads to hyperactivation of ERK5 in normal and tumorigenic cells. Loss of XIAP promotes differentiation of human primary skeletal myoblasts to myocytes in a MEKK2/3-ERK5-dependent manner. Our results reveal a novel, obligatory role for IAPs and ubiquitination in the physical and functional disassembly of ERK5-MAPK module and human muscle cell differentiation

Solar Radio Observation Using CALLISTO at the USO/PRL, Udaipur

This paper presents a detailed description of various subsystems of CALLISTO solar radio spectrograph installed at the USO/PRL. In the front-end system, a log periodic dipole antenna (LPDA) is designed for the frequency range of 40-900 MHz. In this paper LPDA design, its modifications, and simulation results are presented. We also present some initial observations taken by CALLISTO at Udaipur.Comment: Published in IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/911866

Preparing for Solar and Heliospheric Science with the SKAO: An Indian Perspective

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) is perhaps the most ambitious radio telescope envisaged yet. It will enable unprecedented studies of the Sun, the corona and the heliosphere and help to answer many of the outstanding questions in these areas. Its ability to make a vast previously unexplored phase space accessible, also promises a large discovery potential. The Indian solar and heliospheric physics community have been preparing for this science opportunity. A significant part of this effort has been towards playing a leading role in pursuing science with SKAO precursor instruments. This article briefly summarises the current status of the various aspects of work done as a part of this enterprise and our future goals.Comment: 34 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysic

Optimization of factors influencing osmotic dehydration of aonla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) segments in salt solution using response surface methodology

Optimization of process parameters is a critical requirement in food processing and food product industries for the development of highly acceptable product. Quantification of mass transfer kinetics under different processing conditions is essential step for optimizing the osmotic dehydration process. A Box-Behnken Design (BBD), adopted from response surface methodology (RSM) approach was used for evaluating and quantifying the moisture loss and solids gain kinetics of aonla segments in salt solution during the osmotic dehydration process. The independent variables were fixed at three levels (salt concentration- 2, 4, 6%; processtemperature - 45, 50, 55 OC and process time - 60, 120, 180 minutes). The process responses were water loss percentage (WL%) and solids gain percentage (SG%). Validation experiments were conducted at optimum conditions to verify predictions and adequacy of the models. The optimum conditions predicted were 5.02% salt concentration, 54.8 OC temperature and 60.64 minutes process time to attain a desired effect of maximum water loss (6.42%) and minimum solid gain (1.09%) in osmotic dehydration of aonla in salt medium

INTEROPERABLE MODEL FOR BIORESOURCE DISTRIBUTED DATABASES

Recently, numerous frameworks and tools are being developed for enhancing access to data and services with a standardized view to communicate the advances in open information sharing. Another emerging field of data exploration is encountered in the coordination, examination and perception of bioresource data and are prompting corresponding new innovations. The bioresource information team aims to develop standards for nationwide data exchange by the establishment of a catalog service to locate and access biological data and information from across the country and information tool for decision makers. With the growth of open data sharing initiatives, the sharing of data among different and myriad sources has increased significantly, but major challenge lies in addressing the issues of interoperability during exchange and use since the data sources are heterogeneous and the data being organization specific is prepared with different (organization) specific data standards and platforms. This paper presents the model based on the study of different metadata standards and to develop a recommended standard for biodiversity information to support interoperability among heterogeneous databases under the umbrella of Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN) portal. The paper presents the mapping of different data standards into the IBIN standard for sharing species data in the form of distributed and interoperable web services to set the stage for interoperability