Isolation and Characterization of Bacterial Lipids and its Application as Antioxidant Agent

The study was aimed to isolate the oleaginous bacteria from various soil samples and characterize the bacterial lipids to study its suitable application. The study was carried out from June 2023 to October 2023 in the microbiology lab at Changu Kana Thakur Arts, Commerce & Science College, New Panvel (Autonomous). The soil samples were collected from the garden, dumping, and compost area at New Panvel. The bacterial isolation was carried out by simple streak plate method, followed by screening by Sudan black B staining method. Production of oleaginous bacteria was done, followed by extraction of lipids by Bligh and dyer method. The extracted lipids were characterized by TLC and FTIR. The antioxidant potential of extracted lipids was assessed by DPPH method. The different oleaginous bacteria were isolated from soil sample and screened by Sudan black B staining method. The results indicate phospholipids, TAG, esters of fatty acids were mainly present. The extracted lipid samples S1C2, S2C4, S2C2, S1C1, S3C4, S2C1, S3C2 have 83.30%, 80%, 36.60%, 23.30%, 26.60%, 16.6%, 6.6% antioxidant potential respectively

WALNUT PEDUNCULAGIN A PROBABLE SERM FOR BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

Walnuts constituents have been actively used in nutrition in slowing cancer growth by its anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic mechanisms. Pedunculagin, a natural chemical constituent of walnut were performed to check for its binding with Estrogen Receptor (ER) receptor using Insilco approach. Most of current approach towards breast cancer therapies is aimed at blocking ER signaling pathway using various estrogen antagonists like synthetic estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) which down regulates the signaling cascade leading to tumor activity. This study is aimed to find the binding interactions between Pedunculagin and ER. Pedunculagin structure was extracted from CHEMSPIDER database and Estrogen Receptor (ER) 1QKN was selected, further ligand and receptor structures were minimized with steepest descent and conjugate gradient with minimized energy levels were found to be -14211.04235 Kcal/mol for ligand molecule and -12518.66882 Kcal/mol for ER. Six interacting binding sites were identified between ligand and ER and docking studies showed second active binding site of receptor showed strong affinity and interacting groups. Pedunculagin may act as SERM in modulating the ER signaling activity and may be a probable therapeutic molecule for treating breast cancer

Evaluating the efficacy of purchased antisense oligonucleotides to reduce mouse and human tau in vivo

Many preclinical and clinical studies support the use of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) as effective therapeutic strategies. However, acquiring ASOs for research purposes may be limited by partnerships with the pharmaceutical companies. Our lab previously developed an effective ASO strategy to lower human tau and reverse pathology in aged tauopathy model mice. Testing the efficacy of purchased tau lowering ASOs would provide support for these reagents as broad research tools. Purchased mouse and human tau lowering ASOs were infused or injected intracerebroventricularly into wildtype and tau transgenic mice. Following treatment, brain tissue evaluated for ASO distribution and levels of tau mRNA, protein, and phosphorylated tau. We show that purchased ASOs enter cell types of the brain and effectively decrease mouse or human tau mRNA and protein levels. Human tau lowering ASO treatment in PS19 mice decreased phosphorylated tau and gliosis relative to saline-treated PS19 mice, consistent with our previous study using a non-commercial tau lowering ASO. The results of this study demonstrate the efficacy of purchased tau targeting ASOs in vivo to support their broad use by researchers

Effects of internal heat generation and Lorentz force on unsteady hybrid nanoliquid flow and heat transfer along a moving plate with nonuniform temperature

The aim of the study: This study aims to explore the transient magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) boundary layer thermal convective flow of a hybrid nanoliquid past a moving vertical plate under the influence of internal heat generation and variable surface temperature. The research methodology: The problem is modeled by coupled nonlinear partial differential equations with relevant boundary conditions. Formulated control equations are worked out using the robust implicit finite‐difference technique. The current work is validated with existing literature for special cases of the problem. The impact of important characteristics on hydrodynamic and thermal patterns, accompanied by skin friction parameter and Nusselt number, is scrutinized graphically. The major conclusion of the study: Impacts of MHD, inner thermal generation, and variable surface temperature on nanoliquid circulation and energy transport are studied. It has been found that velocity, temperature, and skin friction coefficient increase with the increase in the heat generation parameter, whereas the Nusselt number reduces with such parameter

Impact of Preexisting Adenovirus Vector Immunity on Immunogenicity and Protection Conferred with an Adenovirus-Based H5N1 Influenza Vaccine

The prevalence of preexisting immunity to adenoviruses in the majority of the human population might adversely impact the development of adaptive immune responses against adenovirus vector-based vaccines. To address this issue, we primed BALB/c mice either intranasally (i.n.) or intramuscularly (i.m.) with varying doses of wild type (WT) human adenovirus subtype 5 (HAd5). Following the development of immunity against HAd5, we immunized animals via the i.n. or i.m. route of inoculation with a HAd vector (HAd-HA-NP) expressing the hemagglutinin (HA) and nucleoprotein (NP) of A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) influenza virus. The immunogenicity and protection results suggest that low levels of vector immunity (<520 virus-neutralization titer) induced by priming mice with up to 107 plaque forming units (p.f.u.) of HAd-WT did not adversely impact the protective efficacy of the vaccine. Furthermore, high levels of vector immunity (approximately 1500 virus-neutralization titer) induced by priming mice with 108 p.f.u. of HAd-WT were overcome by either increasing the vaccine dose or using alternate routes of vaccination. A further increase in the priming dose to 109 p.f.u. allowed only partial protection. These results suggest possible strategies to overcome the variable levels of human immunity against adenoviruses, leading to better utilization of HAd vector-based vaccines

Physico‑chemical, microbial and phytotoxicity evaluation of composts from sorghum, finger millet and soybean straws

Open Access Journal; Published online: 24 Dec 2018Purpose Composting is an environmentally sustainable alternative for bioconversion of agricultural residues into a nutrient-rich product that can enhance soil fertility/microbial diversity and thereby improve agricultural productivity. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the decomposition pattern of the agro-residues and assess the maturity and phytotoxicity of the composts obtained using physico-chemical, microbial and statistical analyses. The study also attempted to determine a threshold germination index (GI) to serve as a maturity index for the composts by conducting seed germination assays with tomato, chickpea and soybean seeds. Methods Three agricultural residues/straws of Eleusine coracana (finger millet), Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) and Glycine max (soybean) were subjected to aerobic composting for a period of 60 days to study the impact of saw dust on the decomposition pattern and the ultimate compost quality/characteristics. Results The results showed efficient decomposition pattern of the agricultural residues characterized by high temperature profiles (up to 70 °C), high microbial activity, a sharp decrease in C/N ratio of the composting materials, i.e., from an initial 41–61 to final 10–17. Conclusions Statistical evaluation of seed germination assays showed that only the compost obtained from sorghum straw + saw dust was mature and free from any phytotoxicity as all the tested seeds showed higher and statistically significant GIs. It was difficult to attribute a single threshold GI value to indicate maturity of compost and could not further be applied to different types of composts as different seeds responded differently to the same compost

Self-assembled hydrogel fibers for sensing the multi-compartment intracellular milieu

Targeted delivery of drugs and sensors into cells is an attractive technology with both medical and scientific applications. Existing delivery vehicles are generally limited by the complexity of their design, dependence on active transport, and inability to function within cellular compartments. Here, we developed self-assembled nanofibrous hydrogel fibers using a biologically inert, low-molecular-weight amphiphile. Self-assembled nanofibrous hydrogels offer unique physical/mechanical properties and can easily be loaded with a diverse range of payloads. Unlike commercially available E. coli membrane particles covalently bound to the pH reporting dye pHrodo, pHrodo encapsulated in self-assembled hydrogel-fibers internalizes into macrophages at both physiologic (37°C) and sub-physiologic (4°C) temperatures through an energy-independent, passive process. Unlike dye alone or pHrodo complexed to E. coli, pHrodo-SAFs report pH in both the cytoplasm and phagosomes, as well the nucleus. This new class of materials should be useful for next-generation sensing of the intracellular milieu

Development of core collections in soybean on the basis of seed size

Core collections display a large fraction of the diversity contained in large collections in smaller germplasm panels. We used historical data (1973–2015) collected at the World Vegetable Center, Taiwan, for developing soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) core collections representing the diversity of the whole collection of 7853 accessions held by the Center. The collection was split into two groups on the basis of the 100 seed weight: large seeded (>25 g or equal to 25 g) and small seeded (<25 g). The large-seeded group (vegetable soybean/edamame) comprised 456 accessions, while the small-seeded group contained 7397 accessions. Within these two groups, we developed core collections based on seven quantitative and 14 qualitative traits collected during the autumn season, resulting in a core collection of 112 large-seeded vegetable soybean accessions and 1480 accessions for the small-seeded types

Lifelong residual bone marrow damage in murine survivors of the hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome (H-ARS): a compilation of studies comprising the Indiana University experience

Accurate analyses of the delayed effects of acute radiation exposure (DEARE) in survivors of the hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome (H-ARS) are hampered by low numbers of mice for examination due to high lethality from the acute syndrome, increased morbidity and mortality in survivors, high cost of husbandry for long-term studies, biological variability, and inconsistencies of models from different laboratories complicating meta-analyses. To address this, a compilation of 38 similar H-ARS studies conducted over a seven-year period in the authors’ laboratory, comprising more than 1,500 irradiated young adult C57BL/6 mice and almost 600 day-30 survivors, was assessed for hematopoietic DEARE at various times up to 30 months of age. Significant loss of long-term repopulating potential of phenotypically-defined primitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) was documented in H-ARS survivors, as well as significant decreases in all hematopoietic lineages in peripheral blood, prominent myeloid skew, significantly decreased bone marrow cellularity and numbers of lineage-negative Sca-1+ cKit+ CD150+ cells (KSLCD150+; the phenotype known to be enriched for HSC), and increased cycling of KSLCD150+ cells. Studies interrogating the phenotype of bone marrow cells capable of initiation of suspension cultures and engraftment in competitive transplantation assays documented the phenotype of HSC in H-ARS survivors to be the same as that in non-irradiated age-matched controls. This compilation study adds rigor and validity to our initial findings of persistent hematopoietic dysfunction in H-ARS survivors that arises at the level of the HSC and which affects all classes of hematopoietic cells for the life of the survivor