Clastogenic Effects of Glyphosate in Bone Marrow Cells of Swiss Albino Mice

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, C3H8NO5P), a herbicide, used to control unwanted annual and perennial plants all over the world. Nevertheless, occupational and environmental exposure to pesticides can pose a threat to nontarget species including human beings. Therefore, in the present study, genotoxic effects of the herbicide glyphosate were analyzed by measuring chromosomal aberrations (CAs) and micronuclei (MN) in bone marrow cells of Swiss albino mice. A single dose of glyphosate was given intraperitoneally (i.p) to the animals at a concentration of 25 and 50 mg/kg b.wt. Animals of positive control group were injected i.p. benzo(a)pyrene (100 mg/kg b.wt., once only), whereas, animals of control (vehicle) group were injected i.p. dimethyl sulfoxide (0.2 mL). Animals from all the groups were sacrificed at sampling times of 24, 48, and 72 hours and their bone marrow was analyzed for cytogenetic and chromosomal damage. Glyphosate treatment significantly increases CAs and MN induction at both treatments and time compared with the vehicle control (P < .05). The cytotoxic effects of glyphosate were also evident, as observed by significant decrease in mitotic index (MI). The present results indicate that glyphosate is clastogenic and cytotoxic to mouse bone marrow

Splenic infarction: An uncommon presentation of acute infectious mononucleosis

Splenic infarction is a relatively uncommon diagnosis. It occurs when the splenic artery or one of its sub-branches is occluded with an infected or bland embolus or clot. Splenic infarction may be caused by atrial fibrillation, bacterial endocarditis, sickle cell disease, antiphospholipid syndrome, and trauma whereas an infectious etiology is uncommon. It is considered a rare presentation of acute infectious mononucleosis. Currently, its pathogenesis is still unclear. We describe a 24-year-old African American female who was admitted for evaluation of left-sided chest pain. Chest imaging, abdominal ultrasound, and initial laboratory data were normal, followed by a negative hypercoagulability panel. Signs and symptoms of infectious etiology were absent, however, both IgM and IgG antibodies for Ebstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid antigen were high. Contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography revealed splenomegaly and multiple infarcts in the spleen, which eventually led to the diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis-associated splenic infarction, resolving the diagnostic dilemma

Parasitization Efficiency of Kairomonal Dust Formulations against Egg Parasitoid \u3cem\u3e Trichogramma \u3c/em\u3e spp (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

Agriculture arose independently in many different regions, as people gradually lived closer together, became less nomadic, and focussed their food production on plants that were amenable to repeated sowing and harvesting. Historically, insects have been the most significant herbivores, and the evolution of plants is closely associated with the evolution of insects. The study of plant defences against herbivory is important, not only from an evolutionary view point, but also in the direct impact that these defences have on agriculture, including human and livestock. Success of natural enemies particularly well recognized egg parasitoid, Trichogrammatid (Balakrishnan et al., 2004) in pest management depends upon its host acceptance and searching efficiency in a highly complex crop environment due to release of several volatile compounds termed as allelochemicals (synomones and kairomones). Grasses planted around the perimeter of the crop attract and trap the pests, Desmodium, planted between the rows of maize repel the pests and control the parasitic plant Striga, via Push-Pull technology in which the target crop is intercropped with herbivore repellent plants (push), while attractant plants (pull) are planted around this intercrop. The intercrop, in addition to repelling the herbivores, attracts and conserves natural enemies thereby ensuring continued suppression of the pests. Thus, volatile compounds released by sudan grass, napier grass and other highly attractive hosts were captured by absorption into a porous polymer to enable identification of semiochemicals likely to have attractant activity at the levels released by the plant. This is exploited by smallholder farmers in eastern Africa in the management of cereal stem borers in maize and sorghum (Khan, et al., 2007). Modifying insect behaviour in pest management programs through the utilization of non-toxic semiochemicals is recognized as a promising alternative to conventional approaches. The purpose of a formulation comprising kairomone is the dilution of the highly concentrated compound down to a level at which it will be effective in orientation of a natural enemy towards host insects or its niche without causing harm to the non-target organisms and the natural habitat. It is important to note that the pesticide formulation is a physical mixture of one or more biologically active chemicals and inert ingredients, which provide effective and economical control of the pests, while kairomonal formulation is aimed to enhance the parasitism or predation capacity of a target natural enemy. However, concerted efforts on the application aspects of kairomones especially development of suitable kairomonal formulation against Trichogramma spp. is extremely scanty. The present study was carried out to identify effective kairomonal compound, optimum concentration and appropriate application technique to increase the parasitizing efficiency of T. chilonis

Resveratrol and Black Tea Polyphenol Combination Synergistically Suppress Mouse Skin Tumors Growth by Inhibition of Activated MAPKs and p53

Cancer chemoprevention by natural dietary agents has received considerable importance because of their cost-effectiveness and wide safety margin. However, single agent intervention has failed to bring the expected outcome in clinical trials; therefore, combinations of chemopreventive agents are gaining increasing popularity. The present study aims to evaluate the combinatorial chemopreventive effects of resveratrol and black tea polyphenol (BTP) in suppressing two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesis induced by DMBA and TPA. Resveratrol/BTP alone treatment decreased tumor incidence by ∼67% and ∼75%, while combination of both at low doses synergistically decreased tumor incidence even more significantly by ∼89% (p<0.01). This combination also significantly regressed tumor volume and number (p<0.01). Mechanistic studies revealed that this combinatorial inhibition was associated with decreased expression of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase family proteins: extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2, p38 and increased in total p53 and phospho p53 (Ser 15) in skin tissue/tumor. Treatment with combinations of resveratrol and BTP also decreased expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in mouse skin tissues/tumors than their solitary treatments as determined by immunohistochemistry. In addition, histological and cell death analysis also confirmed that resveratrol and BTP treatment together inhibits cellular proliferation and markedly induces apoptosis. Taken together, our results for the first time lucidly illustrate that resveratrol and BTP in combination impart better suppressive activity than either of these agents alone and accentuate that development of novel combination therapies/chemoprevention using dietary agents will be more beneficial against cancer. This promising combination should be examined in therapeutic trials of skin and possibly other cancers

Strengthening Effect after Disintegration of Stainless Steel Using Pulsating Water Jet

The article deals with the measurement of micro-hardness of the track by the action of ultrasonic excitation of pulsating water jet. The cumulative effect of liquid matter in the form of droplets concentrated in waveform measurements was provided in horizontal and vertical direction to material core (AISI 304). The material was subjected to pressures of p = 40, 50 and 60 MPa with the actuator working at a frequency of 20,14 kHz and traverse speed v = 1,1 mm/s, v = 0,80 mm/s and v = 0,30 mm/s respectively. The micro hardness measurement was carried out after machining it by pulsating water jet. The values were recorded in the zone located transversally under the trace to the depth of 1,5 mm with 0,1 mm distance between successive points. It was found that the deformation of material was ascertained from the boundary to the outer environment created by pulsating water jet to the inner core of the material. The results indicate that the pressure was the most influential parameter, which was responsible for the deformation strengthening of the material

\u3cem\u3e Albizia procera\u3c/em\u3e Based Silvipastoral System: An Ideal Alternate Land Use System for Sustainable Forage Production in Semi-Arid Region

India’s economy is agro-based and about 69% of the total population depends on it for their livelihood (GoI, 2013). Livestock is the integral component of Indian agriculture since time immemorial. Its contribution to national economy through milk, meat, wool as well as farmyard manure is enormous. India has the largest number of livestock, representing over 17% of the world. Among four important species of livestock, cattle represent over 43% of the population followed by buffaloes (19%), goats (26%) and sheep (10%). The share of livestock reared is highest in marginal followed by small and semi-medium land holders implying that marginal holders and small land holders are playing seminal role in development of livestock sector in country. The productivity of livestock and growth of animal husbandry are closely linked with the biomass and quality of forages. Currently there has been radical change in realising the importance of forages in integrated farming system, crop diversification, watershed management, restoration of degraded lands and climate resilient agriculture. Grasslands represent some 70% of global agricultural land area; unfortunately as much as 35% of the grasslands are degraded. The insufficient fodder availability has adversely affected all the three systems of livestock production. Silvipasture systems is an integrated approach of growing ideal combinations of grasses, legumes and trees for higher land productivity, conserving biodiversity and nutrients and producing forage, timber and firewood from a single unit area on a sustainable basis. The trees and shrubs used in silvipasture are used primarily to produce fodder for livestock. Looking at the enormous production potential of the slivipastoral systems, it is pertinent to introduce these in the arid and semi-arid regions so that large area of wasteland which is not suitable for crop production can be used for of fodder and biomass production. Dev et al. (2014) observed significant impact of participatory silvipastoral intervention and soil conservation measures for forage resource enhancement in western Himalaya. The study aims to present the suitability of silvipastoral systems in detail and advocate the extensive use of silvipasture in semi-arid regions for higher production

Characterization of Friction Surfaced Coatings of AISI 316 Tool over High-Speed-Steel Substrate

Nowadays friction surfacing (FS) has become a popular solid state surface coating technology suitable for a range of substrates. The technology has the ability to produce coatings with marginal dilution and good metallurgical bonding. The present study has aimed at producing a single-track and a three-track overlapping coatings on high-speed steel substrates using an AISI 316 consumable rod. Microhardness of coatings was examined by a Vickers micro hardness tester. Coatings of all the friction surfaced samples in as-deposited condition showed significant hardness. The infrared thermography showed that the peak temperature achieved by the AISI 316 coating was about 1020 ͦ C. The coatings, thus attained, were further analysed for their microstructural features and interfacial characteristics by using FE-SEM. The EDX analysis showed the presence of nickel, chromium and oxygen, which indicates the formation of oxide compounds. The formation of AISI 316 deposits on the HSS substrate and the effect of coating overlapping are discussed in this article

The Extended Solar Cycle: Muddying the Waters of Solar/Stellar Dynamo Modeling or Providing Crucial Observational Constraints?

In 1844 Schwabe discovered that the number of sunspots increased and decreased over a period of about 11 years, that variation became known as the sunspot cycle. Almost eighty years later, Hale described the nature of the Sun's magnetic field, identifying that it takes about 22 years for the Sun's magnetic polarity to cycle. It was also identified that the latitudinal distribution of sunspots resembles the wings of a butterfly—showing migration of sunspots in each hemisphere that abruptly start at mid-latitudes (about ±35o) toward the Sun's equator over the next 11 years. These sunspot patterns were shown to be asymmetric across the equator. In intervening years, it was deduced that the Sun (and sun-like stars) possess magnetic activity cycles that are assumed to be the physical manifestation of a dynamo process that results from complex circulatory transport processes in the star's interior. Understanding the Sun's magnetism, its origin and its variation, has become a fundamental scientific objective—the distribution of magnetism, and its interaction with convective processes, drives various plasma processes in the outer atmosphere that generate particulate, radiative, eruptive phenomena, and shape the heliosphere. In the past few decades, a range of diagnostic techniques have been employed to systematically study finer scale magnetized objects, and associated phenomena. The patterns discerned became known as the “Extended Solar Cycle” (ESC). The patterns of the ESC appeared to extend the wings of the activity butterfly back in time, nearly a decade before the formation of the sunspot pattern, and to much higher solar latitudes. In this short review, we describe their observational patterns of the ESC and discuss possible connections to the solar dynamo as we depart on a multi-national collaboration to investigate the origins of solar magnetism through a blend of archived and contemporary data analysis with the goal of improving solar dynamo understanding and modeling

Enhancer Blocking Activity of the Insulator at H19-ICR Is Independent of Chromatin Barrier Establishment▿

Transcriptional insulators are cis regulatory elements that organize chromatin into independently regulated domains. At the imprinted murine Igf2/H19 locus, the H19-ICR insulator prevents the activation of the Igf2 promoter on the maternal allele by enhancers that activate H19 on the same chromosome. Given the well-demonstrated role of H19-ICR as an enhancer blocker, we investigated its ability to define a chromatin barrier, as the two activities are coincident on several insulators and may act in concert to define a functional chromatin boundary between adjacent genes with distinct transcriptional profiles. Allele-specific association of posttranslationally modified histones, reflecting the presence of active or inactive chromatin, was analyzed in the region encompassing H19-ICR using chromatin immunoprecipitation. The existence of differential histone modifications upstream and downstream of H19-ICR specifically on the maternal chromosome was observed, which is suggestive of a chromatin barrier formation. However, H19-ICR deletion analysis indicated that distinct chromatin states exist despite the absence of an intervening “barrier.” Also, the enhancers can activate the Igf2 promoter despite some parts of the intervening chromatin being in the silent state. Hence, H19-ICR insulator activity is not dependent on preventing the enhancer-mediated alteration of the histone modifications in the region between the Igf2 promoter and the cognate enhancers

Standoff Distance in Ultrasonic Pulsating Water Jet

The water hammer effect is the basis of technologies which is artificially responsible for the decay of continuous jets. A recently developed technique enhances the pressure fluctuations using an acoustic chamber, leading to enhanced erosion effects for various water volume flow rates. The optimum standoff distance for an ultrasonic enhanced water jet is not appropriately estimated using an inclined trajectory. The objective of this study is to comprehend the true nature of the interaction of the standoff distance following the stair trajectory and traverse speed of the nozzle on the erosion depth. Additionally, it also critically compares the new method (staircase trajectory) that obeys the variation in frequency of the impingements for defined volume flow rates with the inclined trajectory. In this study, at constant pressure (p = 70 MPa), the role of impingement distribution with the variation of traverse speed (v = 5&ndash;35 mm/s) along the centerline of the footprint was investigated. The maximum erosion depth corresponding to each traverse speed is observed at approximately same standoff distance (65 &plusmn; 5 mm) and decreases with the increment in traverse speed (h = 1042 and 47 &micro;m at v = 5 and 35 mm/s, respectively). The results are attributed to the variation in the number of impingements per unit length. The surface and morphology analysis of the cross-section using SEM manifested the presence of erosion characteristics (micro-cracks, cavities, voids, and upheaved surface). By varying the water cluster, different impingement densities can be achieved that are suitable for technological operations such as surface peening, material disintegration, or surface roughening