ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF SEAWEED ULVA LACTUCA L. EXTRACTED CRUDE PROTEIN AGAINST PATHOGENIC FUNGI

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of seaweed extracted protein against the pathogenic fungi. Methods: Antifungal activity of seaweed Ulva lactuca L. extracted protein was determined against pathogenic fungi such as Alternaria solani, Aspergillus clavatus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Fusarium oxysporum by disk diffusion Method. Then, the potentially active protein was determined using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Results: Seaweeds extracted protein checked for the antifungal activity against A. clavatus, A. solani, and A. flavus better activity compared to standard amphotericin-B and CD spectroscopy. Analysis of the extracts divulges the presence of entire protein compounds. Conclusions: This study extracted seaweed protein sufficient of antifungal activity opposed to antifungal pathogens as compared with the standard. This is first report an activity of seaweed extracted protein against the plant and human pathogenic fungus bearing agricultural important

Learning from a Class Imbalanced Public Health Dataset: a Cost-based Comparison of Classifier Performance

Public health care systems routinely collect health-related data from the population. This data can be analyzed using data mining techniques to find novel, interesting patterns, which could help formulate effective public health policies and interventions. The occurrence of chronic illness is rare in the population and the effect of this class imbalance, on the performance of various classifiers was studied. The objective of this work is to identify the best classifiers for class imbalanced health datasets through a cost-based comparison of classifier performance. The popular, open-source data mining tool WEKA, was used to build a variety of core classifiers as well as classifier ensembles, to evaluate the classifiers’ performance. The unequal misclassification costs were represented in a cost matrix, and cost-benefit analysis was also performed.  In another experiment, various sampling methods such as under-sampling, over-sampling, and SMOTE was performed to balance the class distribution in the dataset, and the costs were compared. The Bayesian classifiers performed well with a high recall, low number of false negatives and were not affected by the class imbalance. Results confirm that total cost of Bayesian classifiers can be further reduced using cost-sensitive learning methods. Classifiers built using the random under-sampled dataset showed a dramatic drop in costs and high classification accuracy

Community-based control of Aedes aegypti by adoption of eco-health methods in Chennai City, India

Background: Dengue is highly endemic in Chennai city, South India, in spite of continuous vector control efforts. This intervention study was aimed at establishing the efficacy as well as the favouring and limiting factors relating to a community-based environmental intervention package to control the dengue vector Aedes aegypti. Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was designed to measure the outcome of a new vector control package and process analysis; different data collection tools were used to determine the performance. Ten randomly selected intervention clusters (neighbourhoods with 100 houses each) were paired with ten control clusters on the basis of ecological/entomological indices and sociological parameters collected during baseline studies. In the intervention clusters, Aedes control was carried out using a community-based environmental management approach like provision of water container covers through community actors, clean-up campaigns, and dissemination of dengue information through schoolchildren. The main outcome measure was reduction in pupal indices (pupae per person index), used as a proxy measure of adult vectors, in the intervention clusters compared to the control clusters. Results: At baseline, almost half the respondents did not know that dengue is serious but preventable, or that it is transmitted by mosquitoes. The stakeholder analysis showed that dengue vector control is carried out by vertically structured programmes of national, state, and local administrative bodies through fogging and larval control with temephos, without any involvement of community-based organizations, and that vector control efforts were conducted in an isolated and irregular way. The most productive container types for Aedes pupae were cement tanks, drums, and discarded containers. All ten intervention clusters with a total of 1000 houses and 4639 inhabitants received the intervention while the ten control clusters with a total of 1000 houses and 4439 inhabitants received only the routine government services and some of the information education and communication project materials. The follow-up studies showed that there was a substantial increase in dengue understanding in the intervention group with only minor knowledge changes in the control group. Community involvement and the partnership among stakeholders (particularly women’s self-help groups) worked well. After 10 months of intervention, the pupae per person index was significantly reduced to 0.004 pupae per person from 1.075 (P50.020) in the intervention clusters compared to control clusters. There were also significant reductions in the Stegomyia indices: the house index was reduced to 4.2%, the container index to 1.05%, and the Breteau index to 4.3 from the baseline values of 19.6, 8.91, and 30.8 in the intervention arm. Conclusion: A community-based approach together with other stakeholders that promoted interventions to prevent dengue vector breeding led to a substantial reduction in dengue vector density

Structural, Optical and Magnetic Properties of (In0.90Sn0.05Cu0.05)(2)O-3 Nanoparticles

This study examined structural, optical and magnetic properties of ITO (In0.95Sn0.05)(2)O-3 and Cu doped ITO (In0.90Sn0.05Cu0.05)(2)O-3 nanoparticles synthesized by solid state reaction method. The synthesized nanoparticles were subjected to structural, optical and magnetic studies. The structural properties of the nanoparticles were carried out using XRD, Raman, FT-IR characterization techniques. Optical properties of the samples were studies using UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer. The magnetic measurements were carried out using vibrating sample magnetometer. The ITO (In0.95Sn0.05)(2)O-3 nanoparticles exhibited room temperature ferromagnetism with clear hysteresis loop. The strength of magnetization decreased in Cu doped ITO (In0.95Sn0.05)(2)O-3. The ITO nanoparticles were also exhibited ferromagnetism at 100 K with a magnetic moment of 0.02 emu/g

An initial event in insect innate immune response: structural and biological studies of interactions between β-1,3-glucan and the N-terminal domain of β-1,3-glucan recognition protein

In response to invading microorganisms, insect β-1,3-glucan recognition protein (βGRP), a soluble receptor in the hemolymph, binds to the surfaces of bacteria and fungi and activates serine protease cascades that promote destruction of pathogens by means of melanization or expression of antimicrobial peptides. Here we report on the NMR solution structure of the N-terminal domain of βGRP (N-βGRP) from Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella), which is sufficient to activate the prophenoloxidase (proPO) pathway resulting in melanin formation. NMR and isothermal calorimetric titrations of N-βGRP with laminarihexaose, a glucose hexamer containing β-1,3 links, suggest a weak binding of the ligand. However, addition of laminarin, a glucose polysaccharide (~ 6 kDa) containing β-1,3 and β-1,6 links that activates the proPO pathway, to N-βGRP results in the loss of NMR cross-peaks from the backbone 15N-1H groups of the protein, suggesting the formation of a large complex. Analytical ultra centrifugation (AUC) studies of formation of N-βGRP:laminarin complex show that ligand-binding induces sel-fassociation of the protein:carbohydrate complex into a macro structure, likely containing six protein and three laminarin molecules (~ 102 kDa). The macro complex is quite stable, as it does not undergo dissociation upon dilution to sub-micromolar concentrations. The structural model thus derived from the present studies for N-βGRP:laminarin complex in solution differs from the one in which a single N-βGRP molecule has been proposed to bind to a triple helical form of laminarin on the basis of an X-ray crystallographic structure of N-βGRP:laminarihexaose complex [Kanagawa, M., Satoh, T., Ikeda, A., Adachi, Y., Ohno, N., and Yamaguchi, Y. (2011) J. Biol. Chem. 286, 29158-29165]. AUC studies and phenoloxidase activation measurements carried out with the designed mutants of N-βGRP indicate that electrostatic interactions involving Asp45, Arg54, and Asp68 between the ligand-bound protein molecules contribute in part to the stability of N-βGRP:laminarin macro complex and that a decreased stability is accompanied by a reduced activation of the proPO pathway. Increased β-1,6 branching in laminarin also results in destabilization of the macro complex. These novel findings suggest that ligand-induced self-association of βGRP:β-1,3-glucan complex may form a platform on a microbial surface for recruitment of downstream proteases, as a means of amplification of the initial signal of pathogen recognition for the activation of the proPO pathway

Industrial fisheries off Madras coast based on exploratory surveys during 1973-1980

At the Madras Research Centre of CMFRI, there existed data for areas (Fig. 1) south of 15°40'N Upto the latitude zone of I0°40'N off Velanganni in depths ranging from 10 to 130 m for a eight year period From 1973 to 1980. The results of analysis of these data are presented here with a view to providing information on and extending our knowledge about the spatial and seasonal distribution of various indusirially important fisheries as also their resource potential along the north Tamil Nadu-South Andhra Coast

Towards screening Barrett’s Oesophagus: current guidelines, imaging modalities and future developments

Barrett’s oesophagus is the only known precursor to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC). Although guidelines on the screening and surveillance exist in Barrett’s oesophagus, the current strategies are inadequate. Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) is the gold standard method in screening for Barrett’s oesophagus. This invasive method is expensive with associated risks negating its use as a current screening tool for Barrett’s oesophagus. This review explores current definitions, epidemiology, biomarkers, surveillance, and screening in Barrett’s oesophagus. Imaging modalities applicable to this condition are discussed, in addition to future developments. There is an urgent need for an alternative non-invasive method of screening and/or surveillance which could be highly beneficial towards reducing waiting times, alleviating patient fears and reducing future costs in current healthcare services. Vibrational spectroscopy has been shown to be promising in categorising Barrett’s oesophagus through to high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and OAC. These techniques need further validation through multicentre trials

Business analytics in industry 4.0: a systematic review

Recently, the term “Industry 4.0” has emerged to characterize several Information Technology and Communication (ICT) adoptions in production processes (e.g., Internet-of-Things, implementation of digital production support information technologies). Business Analytics is often used within the Industry 4.0, thus incorporating its data intelligence (e.g., statistical analysis, predictive modelling, optimization) expert system component. In this paper, we perform a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on the usage of Business Analytics within the Industry 4.0 concept, covering a selection of 169 papers obtained from six major scientific publication sources from 2010 to March 2020. The selected papers were first classified in three major types, namely, Practical Application, Reviews and Framework Proposal. Then, we analysed with more detail the practical application studies which were further divided into three main categories of the Gartner analytical maturity model, Descriptive Analytics, Predictive Analytics and Prescriptive Analytics. In particular, we characterized the distinct analytics studies in terms of the industry application and data context used, impact (in terms of their Technology Readiness Level) and selected data modelling method. Our SLR analysis provides a mapping of how data-based Industry 4.0 expert systems are currently used, disclosing also research gaps and future research opportunities.The work of P. Cortez was supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. We would like to thank to the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions