Changing histological spectrum of adult nephrotic syndrome in comparison to previous study: single centre analysis

Background: Glomerular diseases are an important cause of chronic renal failure in developing countries. The spectrum of diseases causing nephrotic syndrome is changing globally in the last few decades. Methods: Patients in the age group 18-60 years with nephrotic syndrome were consecutively included in the study. Renal biopsies were performed in all patients and were subjected to light microscopy, immunofluorescence (IF) and electron microscopy (EM). Results: 189 patients (67% males) were included in the study. The mean age was 43 years. Primary glomerular diseases accounted for 92.5% of cases while lupus nephritis was the most common secondary glomerular disease. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) accounted for 28.6% of primary glomerular diseases making it the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome. It was followed by membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) in 13.2%, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis in 11.2%, diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis in 10.6% and minimal change disease in 9.5%. Conclusions: The biopsy diagnosis of FSGS has increased considerably in last few decades and it is now the most common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults in North India. MGN is the most common lesion in patients over 40 years of age

Physico-Chemical Characterization Of Sweet Chestnut (Castanea Sativa L.) Starch Grown In Temperate Climate Of Kashmir, India

Studies were conducted to characterize the chestnut starch for physico-chemical properties. Chemical composition of chestnut starch showed low levels of protein and ash indicating purity of starch. The results revealed low water and oil absorption capacity of chestnut starch. Starch showed high swelling power and low solubility index. Swelling power and solubility index of chestnut starch increased with increase in temperature (50–90 °C). The results revealed high initial, peak, setback, breakdown, and final viscosity but low paste development temperature. Transmittance (%) of the starch gel was low and decreased with increasing storage period. The chestnut starch gel showed increase in % water release (syneresis) with increase in time of storage but was less susceptible to repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. Starch was also characterized for granule morphology. Starch granules were of round and oval shapes, some granules showed irregular shape

The influence of cutting fluid conditions and machining parameters on cutting performance and wear mechanism of coated carbide tools

The present study investigates the effect of various cutting fluid cooling conditions and machining parameters on tool flank wear (VB) and surface roughness (Ra) in hard turning of AISI D2 steel using multilayer coated carbide inserts. Response surface methodology with Face centered composite design was adopted to reduce the number of tests. Analysis of variance was employed to check the validity of regression models and to determine the effects, contribution and significance of process parameters on desired responses. The analysis of variance results indicates that the effect of machining time (72.5%) and cutting speed (16.02%) were found to be the most dominant factors contributing to tool wear of the inserts. Alternatively, machining time (63.36%) and feed rate (17.66%) were the main factors influencing surface roughness (Ra) of the work material. On the other hand, application of low flow high velocity cutting fluid condition (LFHV) showed a substantial contribution in reducing tool wear and increasing surface finish. It was observed that adhesion, abrasion along with chipping were the most dominant tool failure modes of coated carbide inserts. Finally, Desirability function approach (DFA) was used to find out the optimal cutting parameters for minimum tool wear with maximum surface finish

Tribological Characterisation of Graphene Oxide as Lubricant Additive on Hypereutectic Al-25Si/Steel Tribopair

The performance of a lubricant greatly depends on the additives it involves. However, recently used additives produce severe pollution when they are burned and exhausted. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new generation of green additives. Graphene oxide (GO) is considered to be environmentally friendly. The scope of this study is to explore the fundamental tribological behavior of graphene, the first existing 2D material, and evaluate its performance as a lubricant additive. The friction and wear behavior of 0.5 wt% concentrations of GO particles in ethanol and SAE20W50 engine oil on a hypereutectic Al-25Si alloy disc against steel ball was studied at 5 N load. GO as an additive reduced the wear coefficient by 60–80% with 30 Hz frequency for 120 m sliding distance. The minimum value of the coefficient of friction (0.057) was found with SAE20W50 + 0.5 wt% GO. A possible explanation for these results is that the graphene layers act as a 2D nanomaterial and form a conformal protective film on the sliding contact interfaces and easily shear off due to weak Van der Waal's forces and drastically reduce the wear. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy were used for characterization of GO and wear scars

Effect of Pulsing Treatments for Enhancing Shelf-Life of Cut Asiatic Lilium cv. Elite

Studies were conducted on cut Asiatic Lilium cv. Elite to assess the effectiveness of various floral preservatives as pulsing treatments for delaying senescence and prolonging vase life. Uniform spikes of lilium at bud colour break stage were brought to the laboratory in the morning and placed in 8 different pulsing solutions consisting of sucrose (Suc) 5%, aluminium sulphate (AS) 400 ppm, silver thio-sulphate (STS) 2.0 mM and citric acid (CA) 1000 ppm alone and in combination with sucrose. Distilled water without any chemical served as the control. Among individual treatments, STS 2.0 mM maintained better water relations and flower quality compared to others. STS also showed superiority over other treatments when combined with Suc 5% by providing largest flower size (16.74 cm) with maximum vase life (17.29 days) owing to most-favourable water relations parameters

Transgenesis: An efficient tool in mulberry breeding

Genetic engineering is the most potent biotechnological approach dealing with transfer of specially constructed gene assemblies through various transformation techniques. Tools of recombinant DNA technology facilitated development of transgenic plants.  The plants obtained through genetic engineering contain a gene or genes usually from an unrelated organisms, and are known as transgenic plants. The combined use of recombinant DNA technology, gene transfer methods and tissue culture techniques has  led to the efficient transformation and production of transgenics in a wide variety of crop plants. In fact transgenesis has emerged as a novel tool for carrying out “single gene breeding” or transgenic breeding of crop plants. Identification, isolation and cloning of resistant genes is the prerequisite for development of transgenic plants for disease resistance. Identification of resistance genes on the basis of amino acid sequence, conservation enables plant breeder to monitor resistance gene segregation using  appropriate DNA probe intend of testing progeny for disease resistance and susceptibility. Significant developments in plant  genetic modification have been achieved in the last 15 years. Some of the success include herbicide tolerant corn, cotton,  soyabeen and papaya; virus resistant corn, potato, cotton among others. In mulberry, little work has been carried out at Delhi University (south campus). They have developed drought and salinity tolerent transgenic mulberry through Agrobacterium mediated transformation. The overexpression of HVA1 gene from barley generates tolerence to salinity and water stress in  transgenic mulberry (Morus indica).Keywords: Transgenic plant, mulberry, resistance, salinity

Fabrication of Microbicidal Silver Nanoparticles: Green Synthesis and Implications in the Containment of Bacterial Biofilm on Orthodontal Appliances

Among various metal-based nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) manifest superior inhibitory effects against several microorganisms. In fact, the AgNP-based treatment has been reported to inhibit both sensitive and resistant isolates of bacteria and other disease-causing microbes with equal propensity. Keeping this fact into consideration, we executed bio-mediated synthesis of AgNPs employing extract of flower and various other parts (such as bud and leaf) of the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plant. The physicochemical characterization of as-synthesized AgNPs was executed employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy, etc. The as-synthesized AgNPs demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with equal propensity. The as-synthesized AgNPs successfully inhibited Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), one of the main causative bacteria responsible for dental caries. Considering the fact that orthodontic appliances facilitate infliction of the oral cavity with a range of microbes including S. mutans, we determined the growth inhibitory and anti-adherence activities of AgNPs on orthodontic appliances. We performed microbiological assays employing AgNPs adsorbed onto the surface of nickel–titanium (Ni-Ti) orthodontic wires. A topographic analysis of the decontaminated Ni-Ti orthodontic wires was performed by scanning electron microscopy. In addition to antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities against oral S. mutans, the as-fabricated AgNPs demonstrated significant inhibitory and anti-biofilm properties against other biofilm-forming bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes

Biosynthesis and Degradation of Carotenoids in Ornamental Crops with specific reference to Chrysanthemum

Carotenoids are lipophilic secondary metabolites derived from the isoprenoid pathway, accumulated in most plant organs and widely used as an antioxidant. Carotenoids synthesized in chloroplasts are essential for protecting tissues against photo-oxidative damage in the green tissues of higher plants. The importance of carotenoids for plant growth and development is evident since at least two major phytohormones, strigolactones and abscisic acid, are derived from carotenoid precursors. In flowers, carotenoids synthesized in the chromoplasts provide colour to the petals, ranging from yellow to red, in order to attract pollinators and determines the commercial value of ornamental plants. On analysis in chrysanthemum, β, ɛ-carotenoids, lutein and its derivatives, reflecting the high expression levels of lycopene ɛ-cyclase (LCYE) were found in yellow petals compared to the ratio of β, β-carotenoids to total carotenoids found in leaves reflecting the high expression levels of lycopene β-cyclase (LCYB). Petals of the yellow-flowered cultivar Yellow Paragon showed increased accumulation and drastic componential changes of carotenoids as they mature, compared to petals of the white-flowered cultivar Paragon that showed drastically decreased carotenoid content during petal development.The white petals of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) contain a factor that inhibits the accumulation of carotenoids. All the white-flowered chrysanthemum cultivars tested showed high levels of CmCCD4a transcript in their petals, whereas most of the yellow flowered cultivars showed extremely low levels indicating that in white petals of chrysanthemums, carotenoids are synthesized but subsequently degraded into colourless compounds, which results in the white colour. Studying the regulatory mechanisms underlying carotenoid accumulation in ornamental plants at the molecular level will help in producing novel coloured cultivars by plant transformation

Role of deforestation and hillslope position on soil quality attributes of loess-derived soils in Golestan province, Iran

Conversion of natural land resources into croplands, which is triggered by the rapid population growth, causes serious soil degradation. A loess hillslope located in eastern Golestan province of Iran was selected to study the role of deforestation and slope position on soil quality attributes. Surface (0–30 cm) and subsurface (30–60 cm) soil samples were taken from five slope positions (summit, SU, shoulder, SH, backslope, BS, footslope, FS and toeslope, TS) of forest (FO) and adjacent deforested cultivated land (DEF) in a factorial trial with completely randomized design. Ten pedons were also investigated and undisturbed soil samples were taken from different horizons for micromorphological studies. The texture of the original loess is silt loam. The soil textural class varies from silty clay loam in FO to silt loam in DEF, mainly due to the loss of finer particles as a result of soil erosion followed by deforestation and long-term cultivation. Mean weight diameter (MWD) of aggregates decreased following deforestation (0.88 mm compared to 1.49 mm in FO), as a result of considerable losses of organic carbon (OC) and breakdown of aggregates. Bulk density (BD) increased and soil infiltration rate decreased by about 50% in DEF. Reduction of annual organic matter input to soil as a result of deforestation and also rapid oxidation of organic matter in DEF were responsible for a significant decrease (>70%) in OC and total nitrogen (TN). Soil microbial respiration (SMR) also decreased significantly, following deforestation. Carbon, and N contents and population of fungi were significantly higher in all hillslope positions of the FO than the DEF. Changes in soil quality attributes were not significant in different slope positions of FO, which might be related to the stability of forest landscape. Effect of different slope positions on soil quality attributes was more pronounced in the DEF. The SH and BS were found as the most susceptible positions to erosion in DEF. Soils of the FO were mainly classified as Alfisols and Mollisols with evidences for clay illuviation compared to the weakly developed Inceptisols formed in the DEF. Micromorphological investigations revealed that the FO soils had strong granular and crumb microstructure with a high porosity indicating the presence of high amount of organic matter. The high microbial and faunal activity was confirmed through the presence of excremental pedofeatures in the topsoil of the FO. Lower organic matter and consequently microbial activity in the topsoil of the DEF have resulted in the massive microstructure with little porosit