Review on Therapeutic Uses of Mimosa Pudica (Touch-me-not) Plant

The prostrate or semi-erect subshrub Mimosa pudica L. (Mimosacee), referred to as touch me not, live and die, shame plant, and humble plant, is indigenous to North and South America as well as Australia. They are delicate soft grey green leaves that fold and droop at night or when handled and chilled, and they are thickly equipped with recurved thorns in India. Its peculiar bending behaviors have given it the nickname "curiosity plant." According to Ayurveda, the root of this plant is bitter, acrid, cooling, vulnerary, and alexipharmic. Leprosy, dysentery, vaginal and uterine complaints, inflammations, burning sensations, asthma, leucoderma, tiredness, and blood disorders are among the conditions it is used to treat. It appears to be a prospective herbal candidate deserving of further research, as shown by its pharmacological profile Numerous illnesses, including cancer, diabetes, hepatitis, obesity, and urinary infections, are also prevented or treated using mimosa pudica. It predominantly contains pharmacological activities that include antibacterial, antivenom, antitertility, anticonvulsant, depressant, aphrodisiac, and others. The plant has been used to treat urogenital issues for ages

Review on Calotropis Gigantea as a Topically used Plant

There have been numerous reports of the Asclepiadaceae plant, Calotropis gigantea R.Br, having medicinal and other uses. Plants have been employed as a source of medicinal substances since ancient times. In the indigenous system of medicine, plants are used extensively to treat disease. Traditional medicine makes use of various plant extracts or bioactive substances. This kind of research offers health at a reasonable price. The findings imply that the stem, leaves, and flower's phytochemical qualities can be used to treat a variety of diseases. The nation that produces the most medicinal herbs is India, which is fittingly known as the world's botanical garden. Calotropis gigantea, a member of the Asclepiadaceae/Apocynaceae family, is also referred to as the Crown Flower and has unique therapeutic properties that can be used alone or in conjunction with other medications to treat common disorders. Herbal medicines have a very wide range of medicinal applications. In ayurveda, the entire dried plant is used as a mucus explusor, parasitic worm expeller, and rejuvenator. Leprosy and asthma are treated with its dried root, while vertigo, baldness, hair loss, and rheumatoid arthritis are all treated with its latex. Calotropis is employed for a variety of conventional and homoeopathic treatments. The plant's many parts can be separated and used as medicine to get a variety of benefits

Production of bioethanol through enzymatic hydrolysis of potato

Due to gradual decrease in petroleum resources and impacts of these wastes on the environment, there is a need to utilize the wastes of potatoes to get wealth out of wastes and clean the environment. In this study, potato wastes were investigated as source of bioethanol. 100 g potato powder was mixed with 1 L distilled water in two separate beakers to form potato slurry. Bioethanol production was investigated using effect of pH, temperature and mixture of digesting enzymes after scarification and fermentation. The results show that significant (p<0.05) bioethanol was produced at 35°C and at pH 5.5. This investigation also reveals that mixture of enzymes significantly enhanced (p<0.05) bioethanol production compared to non treated mixture. Maximum bioethanol productions were due to the presence of sugar in potatoes.Key words: Bioethanol, potato, ph, temperature, liquefaction

Tracking seasonal changes in North Sea zooplankton trophic dynamics using stable isotopes

Trophodynamics of meso-zooplankton in the North Sea (NS) were assessed at a site in the southern NS, and at a shallow and a deep site in the central NS. Offshore and neritic species from different ecological niches, including Calanus spp., Temora spp. and Sagitta spp., were collected during seven cruises over 14 months from 2007 to 2008. Bulk stable isotope (SI) analysis, phospholipid-derived fatty acid (PLFA) compositions, and δ 13CPLFA data of meso-zooplankton and particulate organic matter (POM) were used to describe changes in zooplankton relative trophic positions (RTPs) and trophodynamics. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that the RTPs of zooplankton in the North Sea vary spatially and seasonally, in response to hydrographic variability, with the microbial food web playing an important role at times. Zooplankton RTPs tended to be higher during winter and lower during the phytoplankton bloom in spring. RTPs were highest for predators such as Sagitta sp. and Calanus helgolandicus and lowest for small copepods such as Pseudocalanus elongatus and zoea larvae (Brachyura). δ 15NPOM-based RTPs were only moderate surrogates for animals’ ecological niches, because of the plasticity in source materials from the herbivorous and the microbial loop food web. Common (16:0) and essential (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA and docosahexaenoic acid, DHA) structural lipids showed relatively constant abundances. This could be explained by incorporation of PLFAs with δ 13C signatures which followed seasonal changes in bulk δ 13CPOM and PLFA δ 13CPOM signatures. This study highlighted the complementarity of three biogeochemical approaches for trophodynamic studies and substantiated conceptual views of size-based food web analysis, in which small individuals of large species may be functionally equivalent to large individuals of small species. Seasonal and spatial variability was also important in altering the relative importance of the herbivorous and microbial food webs

A ground-based near-infrared emission spectrum of the exoplanet HD 189733b

Detection of molecules using infrared spectroscopy probes the conditions and compositions of exoplanet atmospheres. Water (H2O), methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) have been detected in two hot Jupiters. These previous results relied on space-based telescopes that do not provide spectroscopic capability in the 2.4 - 5.2 micron spectral region. Here we report ground-based observations of the dayside emission spectrum for HD 189733b between 2.0-2.4 micron and 3.1-4.1 micron, where we find a bright emission feature. Where overlap with space-based instruments exists, our results are in excellent agreement with previous measurements. A feature at ~3.25 micron is unexpected and difficult to explain with models that assume local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) conditions at the 1 bar to 1 x 10-6 bar pressures typically sampled by infrared measurements. The most likely explanation for this feature is that it arises from non-LTE emission from CH4, similar to what is seen in the atmospheres of planets in our own Solar System. These results suggest that non-LTE effects may need to be considered when interpreting measurements of strongly irradiated exoplanets.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, published in Natur

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

Enrichment of Omnivorous Cercozoan Nanoflagellates from Coastal Baltic Sea Waters

Free-living nano-sized flagellates are important bacterivores in aquatic habitats. However, some slightly larger forms can also be omnivorous, i.e., forage upon both bacterial and eukaryotic resources. This hitherto largely ignored feeding mode may have pronounced implications for the interpretation of experiments about protistan bacterivory. We followed the response of an uncultured group of omnivorous cercozoan nanoflagellates from the Novel Clade 2 (Cerc_BAL02) to experimental food web manipulation in samples from the Gulf of Gdańsk (Southern Baltic Sea). Seawater was either prefiltered through 5 µm filters to exclude larger predators of nanoflagellates (F-treatment), or prefiltered and subsequently 1∶10 diluted with sterile seawater (F+D-treatment) to stimulate the growth of both, flagellates and bacteria. Initially, Cerc_BAL02 were rapidly enriched under both conditions. They foraged on both, eukaryotic prey and bacteria, and were highly competitive at low concentrations of food. However, these omnivores were later only successful in the F+D treatment, where they eventually represented almost one fifth of all aplastidic nanoflagellates. By contrast, their numbers stagnated in the F-treatment, possibly due to top-down control by a concomitant bloom of other, unidentified flagellates. In analogy with observations about the enrichment of opportunistically growing bacteria in comparable experimental setups we suggest that the low numbers of omnivorous Cerc_Bal02 flagellates in waters of the Gulf of Gdańsk might also be related to their vulnerability to grazing pressure

In-Vitro Helix Opening of M. tuberculosis oriC by DnaA Occurs at Precise Location and Is Inhibited by IciA Like Protein

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, is capable of staying asymptomatically in a latent form, persisting for years in very low replicating state, before getting reactivated to cause active infection. It is therefore important to study M.tb chromosome replication, specifically its initiation and regulation. While the region between dnaA and dnaN gene is capable of autonomous replication, little is known about the interaction between DnaA initiator protein, oriC origin of replication sequences and their negative effectors of replication. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By KMnO(4) mapping assays the sequences involved in open complex formation within oriC, mediated by M.tb DnaA protein, were mapped to position -500 to -518 with respect to the dnaN gene. Contrary to E. coli, the M.tb DnaA in the presence of non-hydrolysable analogue of ATP (ATPgammaS) was unable to participate in helix opening thereby pointing to the importance of ATP hydrolysis. Interestingly, ATPase activity in the presence of supercoiled template was higher than that observed for DnaA box alone. M.tb rRv1985c, a homologue of E.coli IciA (Inhibitor of chromosomal initiation) protein, could inhibit DnaA-mediated in-vitro helix opening by specifically binding to A+T rich region of oriC, provided the open complex formation had not initiated. rIciA could also inhibit in-vitro replication of plasmid carrying the M.tb origin of replication. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results have a bearing on the functional role of the important regulator of M.tb chromosomal replication belonging to the LysR family of bacterial regulatory proteins in the context of latency

Pattern of medical waste management: existing scenario in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medical waste is infectious and hazardous. It poses serious threats to environmental health and requires specific treatment and management prior to its final disposal. The problem is growing with an ever-increasing number of hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic laboratories in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. However, research on this critical issue has been very limited, and there is a serious dearth of information for planning. This paper seeks to document the handling practice of waste (e.g. collection, storage, transportation and disposal) along with the types and amount of wastes generated by Health Care Establishments (HCE). A total of 60 out of the existing 68 HCE in the study areas provided us with relevant information.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The methodology for this paper includes empirical field observation and field-level data collection through inventory, questionnaire survey and formal and informal interviews. A structured questionnaire was designed to collect information addressing the generation of different medical wastes according to amount and sources from different HCE. A number of in-depth interviews were arranged to enhance our understanding of previous and existing management practice of medical wastes. A number of specific questions were asked of nurses, hospital managers, doctors, and cleaners to elicit their knowledge. The collected data with the questionnaire survey were analysed, mainly with simple descriptive statistics; while the qualitative mode of analysis is mainly in narrative form.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The paper shows that the surveyed HCE generate a total of 5,562 kg/day of wastes, of which about 77.4 per cent are non-hazardous and about 22.6 per cent are hazardous. The average waste generation rate for the surveyed HCE is 1.9 kg/bed/day or 0.5 kg/patient/day. The study reveals that there is no proper, systematic management of medical waste except in a few private HCE that segregate their infectious wastes. Some cleaners were found to salvage used sharps, saline bags, blood bags and test tubes for resale or reuse.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The paper reveals that lack of awareness, appropriate policy and laws, and willingness are responsible for the improper management of medical waste in Dhaka City. The paper also shows that a newly designed medical waste management system currently serves a limited number of HCE. New facilities should be established for the complete management of medical waste in Dhaka City.</p