Transbilayer phosphatidylethanolamine movements in the yeast plasma membrane

Aminophospholipid movements in the plasma membrane of higher eukaryotic cells seem to be regulated by an ATP-dependent, protein-mediated process. To examine whether similar mechanisms exist in yeast cells, we have analysed phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn) distributions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (A184D) cells under a variety of conditions, with trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid and fluorescamine as the external membrane probes. The levels of external PtdEtn in the intact cells were reduced to about 50% by pretreatment of the cells with inhibitors of mitochondrial ATP synthesis, ATPase inhibitors or protein-sulfhydryl-group-modifying reagents, or by depletion of the cells of ATP by metabolic starvation. The levels of external PtdEtn could be restored to normal by repletion of the energy-depleted cells with ATP. Furthermore, treatment of the energy-depleted cells with sulfhydryl-modyfying reagents did not cause further reduction in the external PtdEtn levels but decreased the accessibility of PtdEtn to fluorescamine after restoration of the cellular ATP levels to normal in these cells. These results demonstrate an involvement of an ATP-dependent, protein-mediated process(es) in the regulation of the PtdEtn distribution across the plasma-membrane bilayer of yeast cells. The results are discussed with regard to possible models that can generate and maintain the transbilayer phospholipid asymmetry in the yeast plasma membrane

Influence of organic sources of nutrients on vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) as an intercrop in coconut garden

Performance of vanilla, as influenced by organic source of nutrition when grown as intercrop in coconut garden, was studied in sandy loam soil at ICAR-CPCRI, Kasaragod, Kerala for seven years. Field experiments were carried out with different sources of organic manures, recommended NPK fertilizer and no fertilizer treatments. Application of cow dung slurry (6 tonnes ha-1) resulted in vigorous growth of vine (vine length of 5.5 m) and higher number of beans per vine (208) and a significantly higher mean fresh yield of bean (1.87 kg vine-1). Application of vermicompost (5 kg plant-1) + biofertilizers (Bacillus and Azospirillum) and vermiwash were on par and recorded mean fresh yield of 1.47 kg vine-1 and 1.30 kg vine-1, respectively. Control treatment without fertilizer application recorded significantly lower fresh bean yield (0.55 kg vine-1) due to lower number of beans per vine (72 nos.).  In the rhizosphere of vanilla, no significant difference for either bacterial or actinomycetes population was noticed among the treatments. The fungal population differed significantly among the treatments and the highest population level was found with application of biogas slurry (62.1x103cfu g-1 soil), which was on par with application of cow dung slurry (59x103 cfu g-1 soil). Among the function specific microbial communities, the highest population of  P-solubilisers (98x103 cfu g-1 soil) was recorded in the biogas slurry treatment, and it was the lowest in control and vermiwash application treatments. The average coconut yield realized during experimental period(2004-05 to 2009-10) was 136 nuts per palm, recording 53 per cent increase in yield compared to pre-experimental yield (89 nuts per palm).Â

Tuftsin-bearing liposomes as drug vehicles in the treatment of experimental aspergillosis

AbstractEncapsulation of amphotericin B in tuftsin-bearing liposomes greatly increased its efficacy in treatment of human aspergillosis in mice. Also, the drug efficacy was significantly increased by pretreating the animals with drug-free tuftsin-bearing liposomes. These results demonstrate that macrophage activation can considerably enhance the therapeutic efficacy of antifungal drugs, like amphotericin B

Spin-Flop Ordering from Frustrated Ferro- and Antiferromagnetic Interactions: A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study of a Mn/Fe(100)\mathrm{Mn}/\mathrm{Fe}(100) Monolayer

The occurrence of a noncollinear magnetic structure at a Mn monolayer grown epitaxially on Fe(100) is predicted theoretically, using spinor density-functional theory, and observed experimentally, using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and linear dichroism (XMLD) spectroscopies. The combined use of XMCD and XMLD at the Mn-absorption edge allows us to assess the existence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic order at the interface, and also to determine the moment orientations with element specificity. The experimental results thus obtained are in excellent agreement with the magnetic structure determined theoretically

High Precision Measurements of Interstellar Dispersion Measure with the upgraded GMRT

Pulsar radio emission undergoes dispersion due to the presence of free electrons in the interstellar medium (ISM). The dispersive delay in the arrival time of pulsar signal changes over time due to the varying ISM electron column density along the line of sight. Correcting for this delay accurately is crucial for the detection of nanohertz gravitational waves using Pulsar Timing Arrays. In this work, we present in-band and inter-band DM estimates of four pulsars observed with uGMRT over the timescale of a year using two different template alignment methods. The DMs obtained using both these methods show only subtle differences for PSR 1713+0747 and J1909$-$3744. A considerable offset is seen in the DM of PSR J1939+2134 and J2145$-$0750 between the two methods. This could be due to the presence of scattering in the former and profile evolution in the latter. We find that both methods are useful but could have a systematic offset between the DMs obtained. Irrespective of the template alignment methods followed, the precision on the DMs obtained is about $10^{-3}$ pc cm$^{-3}$ using only BAND3 and $10^{-4}$ pc cm$^{-3}$ after combining data from BAND3 and BAND5 of the uGMRT. In a particular result, we have detected a DM excess of about $5\times10^{-3}$ pc cm$^{-3}$ on 24 February 2019 for PSR J2145$-$0750. This excess appears to be due to the interaction region created by fast solar wind from a coronal hole and a coronal mass ejection (CME) observed from the Sun on that epoch. A detailed analysis of this interesting event is presented.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by A&

Seasonal and interannual variations of oceanographic conditions off Mangalore coast (Karnataka, India) in the Malabar upwelling system during 1995–2004 and their influences on the pelagic fishery

Mangalore coast is well known for its multi-species and multi-gear fisheries and the fishery and oceanographic features of this region is a true representation of the Malabar upwelling system. Ten years of study (1995–2004) of oceanographic parameters has been carried out from the inshore waters off Mangalore to understand their seasonal and interannual variations and influences on the pelagic fishery of the region. Attempt has been also made to understand the influence of local and global environmental conditions on the alternating patterns of abundance between the Indian mackerel and oil sardine from the area

Framework For a Collective Definition of Regenerative Agriculture in India

The concept of regenerative agriculture has received increasing attention worldwide as a method to restore and conserve natural resources while maintaining crop productivity. However, there remains a lack of consensus as to what conditions define regenerative agriculture, making it difficult for decision-makers, researchers, the agricultural sector, and the public to adopt regenerative agriculture practices. Here, we present the initial process to create a unified, cross-sectoral definition for regenerative agriculture in India that considers the viewpoints of multiple stakeholders and addresses the current challenges faced by the Indian agricultural sector. To this end, we compiled interactions with individuals from across India to identify the most pressing concerns for India's human and environmental ecosystems. We conducted over 30 hours of workshops to discuss these concerns with 50 experts from five sectors and four countries

Multi-band Extension of the Wideband Timing Technique

The wideband timing technique enables the high-precision simultaneous estimation of Times of Arrival (ToAs) and Dispersion Measures (DMs) while effectively modeling frequency-dependent profile evolution. We present two novel independent methods that extend the standard wideband technique to handle simultaneous multi-band pulsar data incorporating profile evolution over a larger frequency span to estimate DMs and ToAs with enhanced precision. We implement the wideband likelihood using the libstempo python interface to perform wideband timing in the tempo2 framework. We present the application of these techniques to the dataset of fourteen millisecond pulsars observed simultaneously in Band 3 (300 - 500 MHz) and Band 5 (1260 - 1460 MHz) of the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) as a part of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) campaign. We achieve increased ToA and DM precision and sub-microsecond root mean square post-fit timing residuals by combining simultaneous multi-band pulsar observations done in non-contiguous bands for the first time using our novel techniques.Comment: Submitted to MNRA

Noise analysis of the Indian Pulsar Timing Array data release I

The Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) collaboration has recently made its first official data release (DR1) for a sample of 14 pulsars using 3.5 years of uGMRT observations. We present the results of single-pulsar noise analysis for each of these 14 pulsars using the InPTA DR1. For this purpose, we consider white noise, achromatic red noise, dispersion measure (DM) variations, and scattering variations in our analysis. We apply Bayesian model selection to obtain the preferred noise models among these for each pulsar. For PSR J1600$-$3053, we find no evidence of DM and scattering variations, while for PSR J1909$-$3744, we find no significant scattering variations. Properties vary dramatically among pulsars. For example, we find a strong chromatic noise with chromatic index $\sim$ 2.9 for PSR J1939+2134, indicating the possibility of a scattering index that doesn't agree with that expected for a Kolmogorov scattering medium consistent with similar results for millisecond pulsars in past studies. Despite the relatively short time baseline, the noise models broadly agree with the other PTAs and provide, at the same time, well-constrained DM and scattering variations.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRD, 30 pages, 17 figures, 4 table