Pupillometry as a reliable metric of auditory detection and discrimination across diverse stimulus paradigms in animal models

Estimates of detection and discrimination thresholds are often used to explore broad perceptual similarities between human subjects and animal models. Pupillometry shows great promise as a non-invasive, easily-deployable method of comparing human and animal thresholds. Using pupillometry, previous studies in animal models have obtained threshold estimates to simple stimuli such as pure tones, but have not explored whether similar pupil responses can be evoked by complex stimuli, what other stimulus contingencies might affect stimulus-evoked pupil responses, and if pupil responses can be modulated by experience or short-term training. In this study, we used an auditory oddball paradigm to estimate detection and discrimination thresholds across a wide range of stimuli in guinea pigs. We demonstrate that pupillometry yields reliable detection and discrimination thresholds across a range of simple (tones) and complex (conspecific vocalizations) stimuli; that pupil responses can be robustly evoked using different stimulus contingencies (low-level acoustic changes, or higher level categorical changes); and that pupil responses are modulated by short-term training. These results lay the foundation for using pupillometry as a reliable method of estimating thresholds in large experimental cohorts, and unveil the full potential of using pupillometry to explore broad similarities between humans and animal models.publishersversionpublishe

In-silico structural modelling of cytochrome complex proteins of white turmeric (Curcuma zedoaria)

Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe (white turmeric) is a perennial herbaceous plant of family Zingiberaceae and mainly found in the wild areas of tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The cytochrome proteins in plants play important roles in promoting their growth and development, as well as protecting them from stresses and diseases. Cytochrome proteins like psbF, psbE, petB, petD, petN, petG, and ccsA play important roles in degradation of mis-folded proteins, ATP formation, cyclic electron flow and biogenesis of c-type cytochrome of C. zedoaria. However, due to lack of structural availability of these C. zedoaria cytochrome proteins in structural databases, the physiochemical parameters of sequences were estimated using Expasy ProtParam web tool. Self-Optimized Prediction Method with Alignment (SOPMA) server and MODELLER version 9.23 were used for modelling along with Qualitative Model Energy Analysis (QMEAN) and Protein Structure Analysis (ProSA) servers were implemented for validating the secondary and tertiary structures of these proteins. The obtained QMEAN4 values of the modelled cytochrome proteins were -2.04, -1.20, -3.01, -1.57, -2.11, -1.74 and -12.87. The Z-scores obtained from ProSA server were 0.5, -0.83, -1.5, -0.58, -0.02, 0.14 and -3.73. All seven modelled structures have been submitted to protein model database (PMDB). The derived results will be helpful in further investigations towards determining the crystal structure of the hypothetical proteins, structural motifs, physiochemical properties, and also protein-protein interaction studies of various cytochrome proteins

Derivatives of Cinnamic Acid Esters and Terpenic Diversity in Volatiles of Thirty-Six Sand Ginger (Kaempferia galanga L.) Accessions of Eastern India Revealing Quality Chemovars

The essential oil of Kaempferia galanga L. commonly known as sand ginger has increased its demand in national and international market for decades. Cinnamic acid esters like ethyl-p-methoxy cinnamate (EPMC) and ethyl cinnamate (EC) are major constituents in its essential oil. In spite of the high demand for the plant as raw material, identification of quality chemovars having high essential oil (EO) yield and constituents is still at an infant stage. With this in mind, we have evaluated the EO yield of 36 accessions from three provinces of Eastern India, which varied within a range of 0.41 ± 0.01 to 2.63 ± 0.03 v/w. Further, a total of 65 compounds were detected by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with area percentages varying from 76.16 to 97.3%. EPMC was found to be the major component in 14 accessions with area percentages varying from 10.7% to 41.1%, whereas other 22 accessions showed EC as the major constituent, varying from 16% to 29.1%. Further, a diversity study among accessions was performed by agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) and principal component analysis (PCA) analysis based on the abundance of identified constituents, which categorized all 36 accessions into three clusters. Thus, the present study helps to identify quality chemovar K.g16 and K.g14 with respect to oil yield and constituents, respectively, which could be used to guide commercial cultivation and further improvement of the taxa