Review of Softly As I Leave You by Chandani Lokuge

Review of Softly As I Leave You by Chandani Lokug

Review of A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie

Review of A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsi

Review of 'Otherland: A Journey with My Daughter' by Maria Tumarkin

Review of 'Otherland: Travels with My Daughter

Bio-processing of Agro-industrial Wastes for Production of Food-grade Enzymes: Progress and Prospects

Background and Objectives: In the era of global industrialization, enzymes are being used extensively in the various sectors including food processing. Owing to the high price of enzymes, various initiatives have been undertaken by the R&D sector for the development of new processes or improvement in the existing processes for production of cost effective enzymes. With the advancement in the field of biotechnology, different bioprocesses are being used for utilization of different agro-industrial residues for the production of various enzymes. This review focuses on different types of agro-industrial wastes and their utilization in the production of enzymes. The present scenario as well as the future scope of utilization of enzymes in the food industry has also been discussed.Results and Conclusion: The regulations from the various governmental as well as environmental agencies for the demand of cleaner environment have led to the advancement in various technologies for utilization of the wastes for the production of value-added products such as enzymes. Among the different types of fermentation, maximum work has been carried under solid state conditions by batch fermentation. The research has indicated the significant potential of agro-industrial wastes for production of food-grade enzymes in order to improve the economics of the process.Conflict of interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Biochemical response of earthworm, Eisenia fetida to heavy metals toxicity

Soil heavy metal pollution is widespread and has severe adverse effects on soil organisms. Earthworms are the major soil organisms which perform several beneficial ecological functions butare vulnerable to damage from heavy metal pollution of soil. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potential toxicity of arsenic (As) and chromium (Cr) on the biochemical response of the earthworm, Eisenia fetida. Following exposure to various sub-lethal concentrations ofAs (34, 68, 102 and 136 mg/kg) and Cr(26, 51, 77 and 102 mg/kg ) for 28 days, the levels of several biochemical markers, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were assessed. The results showed that both heavy metals significantly (p<0.05)  impacted the antioxidant enzyme activities and MDA content during the entire exposure period. Compared with the control, SOD, CAT, POD and GST activities increased significantly (p<0.05) by (6.21-23.23, 6.32-18.6, 15.87-34.18 and 0.84-5.45% respectively) at14th day, but after prolonged exposure, these activities were significantly (p<0.05) decreased (9.58-38.13, 10.09-30.03, 19.05-53.16 and 2.26-9.36% respectively) at 28th day. The contents of MDA showed significant (p<0.05) increase (17.84-45.59%) in all exposure groups for entire exposure period. Therefore, it can be concluded that antioxidants play a direct role in the adaptive response of E. fetida for survival in heavy metal contaminated soil. This adaptive antioxidant response can be used as an important biomarker to assess the toxicity of heavy metals in the soil ecosystems

LncRNA VEAL2 regulates PRKCB2 to modulate endothelial permeability in diabetic retinopathy

Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as key regulators of endothelial cell function. Here, we investigated the role of a novel vascular endothelial‐associated lncRNA (VEAL2) in regulating endothelial permeability. Precise editing of veal2 loci in zebrafish (veal2 (gib005Δ8/+)) induced cranial hemorrhage. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that veal2 competes with diacylglycerol for interaction with protein kinase C beta‐b (Prkcbb) and regulates its kinase activity. Using PRKCB2 as bait, we identified functional ortholog of veal2 in humans from HUVECs and named it as VEAL2. Overexpression and knockdown of VEAL2 affected tubulogenesis and permeability in HUVECs. VEAL2 was differentially expressed in choroid tissue in eye and blood from patients with diabetic retinopathy, a disease where PRKCB2 is known to be hyperactivated. Further, VEAL2 could rescue the effects of PRKCB2‐mediated turnover of endothelial junctional proteins thus reducing hyperpermeability in hyperglycemic HUVEC model of diabetic retinopathy. Based on evidence from zebrafish and hyperglycemic HUVEC models and diabetic retinopathy patients, we report a hitherto unknown VEAL2 lncRNA‐mediated regulation of PRKCB2, for modulating junctional dynamics and maintenance of endothelial permeability

Tc-99m-tamoxifen: A novel diagnostic imaging agent for estrogen receptor-expressing breast cancer patients

PURPOSEThe aim of the study was to radiolabel, characterize, and perform in vitro and in vivo assessment of Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) tamoxifen for screening ER expressing lesions in breast cancer patients.METHODSIn this study, tamoxifen has been radiolabeled with Tc-99m via Tc-99m-tricarbonyl core. The characterization and quality control tests of Tc-99m-tamoxifen were performed. In vitro recep- tor binding and blocking studies were performed in both positive control (MCF-7) and negative control cell lines (MDA-MB-231). Normal biodistribution studies were performed in female Wistar albino rats. The pilot clinical studies were performed in 4 ER-expressing breast cancer patients. Of the 4 patients, 1 was on tamoxifen therapy. All 4 patients had also undergone Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography.RESULTSTamoxifen was radiolabeled with Tc-99m via Tc-99m-tricarbonyl core with more than 95% radio- chemical yield. Mass spectra showed a peak corresponding to the molecular weight of Tc-99m- tricarbonyl and Tc-99m-tamoxifen. The site of binding of Tc-99m-tricarbonyl with tamoxifen was determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance. The Tc-99m-tamoxifen showed 30% binding with MCF-7 and only 1%-2% receptor binding with MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Also, the percentage of receptor binding was drastically reduced (up to 72%) when ER was saturated with 50 times the excess molar ratio of unlabeled tamoxifen. In a pilot patient study, Tc-99m-tamoxifen uptake was observed in primary and metastatic lesions. However, no uptake was observed in a patient who was on tamoxifen therapy. The uptake of F-18-FDG was noted in all the patients.CONCLUSIONTamoxifen was radiolabeled with an in-house-synthesized Tc-99m-tricarbonyl core. The radio- labeled complex has been characterized and evaluated for receptor specificity in in vitro and in vivo studies. Also, this is the first clinical study using Tc-99m-tamoxifen for imaging ER. More patients need to be evaluated to further explore the role of Tc-99m-tamoxifen in ER-expressing lesions

The Curious Case of Sick Keesar: Tracing the Roots of South Asian Presence in the Early Republic

This article is part of a larger monograph on India in the American imaginary that seeks to trace Indo-American interactions as mediated by the triangulated relationship between India, Britain, and the US. In this article I perform a symptomatic reading of a petition for redress by a Bengali lascar, Sick Keesar, to Benjamin Franklin in 1785. Whilst most scholarship on lascars and their integral role in the transoceanic trade in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has focused on Britain and Europe, Keesar’s petition illumines South Asian histories of mobility and labor formations forged against global networks of colonial capital and a maritime economy in the little-known context of the United States in the Early Republic. Read in conjunction with the many advertisements for runaway “East Indian” slaves found in newspapers of the times, Keesar’s petition presents an alternative genealogy of South Asian presence in America dating back to the colonial era. The petition sheds light on the unacknowledged and little-known presence and contributions of early South Asian settlers, as indentured servants, slaves, and lascars, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Mapping this hitherto little-known history not only radically reshapes the history of South Asian presence in America, but also illumines a tumultuous period in the making of the American nation that, as yet, was just beginning to define itself and how it related to its racial others

The Curious Case of Sick Keesar: Tracing the Roots of South Asian Presence in the Early Republic

This article is part of a larger monograph on India in the American imaginary that seeks to trace Indo-American interactions as mediated by the triangulated relationship between India, Britain, and the US. In this article I perform a symptomatic reading of a petition for redress by a Bengali lascar, Sick Keesar, to Benjamin Franklin in 1785. Whilst most scholarship on lascars and their integral role in the transoceanic trade in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has focused on Britain and Europe, Keesar’s petition illumines South Asian histories of mobility and labor formations forged against global networks of colonial capital and a maritime economy in the little-known context of the United States in the Early Republic. Read in conjunction with the many advertisements for runaway “East Indian” slaves found in newspapers of the times, Keesar’s petition presents an alternative genealogy of South Asian presence in America dating back to the colonial era. The petition sheds light on the unacknowledged and little-known presence and contributions of early South Asian settlers, as indentured servants, slaves, and lascars, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Mapping this hitherto little-known history not only radically reshapes the history of South Asian presence in America, but also illumines a tumultuous period in the making of the American nation that, as yet, was just beginning to define itself and how it related to its racial others