SEARCH ENGINES USING EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS

A subset of AI is, evolutionary algorithm (EA) which involves evolutionary computation, a generic populationbased meta heuristic optimization algorithm. An EA uses some mechanisms inspired by biological evolution: reproduction, mutation, recombination, and selection. A genetic algorithm (GA) is a search technique used in computing to find exact or approximate solutions to optimization and search problems. Working of a search engine deals with searching for the indexed pages and referring to the related pages within a very short span of. Search engines commonly work through indexing. The paper deals with how a search engine works and how evolutionary algorithms can be used to develop a search engine that feeds on previous user requests to retrieve alternative documents that may not be returned by more conventional search engines

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF GEL LOADED WITH MICROSPHERES OF APREMILAST FOR TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY SYSTEM

Objective: The main objective of the present research work was to formulate and evaluate gel loaded with microspheres of apremilast to increase bioavailability and to reduce the dosing frequency and to improve patient compliance. Methods: Gel loaded with microspheres of apremilast was prepared by solvent evaporation method by taking different ratios of polymers. Ethyl cellulose as a polymer, dichloromethane solvent is used as drug solubility, polyvinyl alcohol as a surfactant, and sodium alginate is used as gelling agent. Prepared gel loaded with microspheres was evaluated for drug interactions by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry studies, and surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), to select effective one among all formulations. The prepared formulations (F1–F6) were evaluated for pre-formulation studies, spreadability, viscosity, pH measurement, gel strength, homogeneity, drug content, in vitro diffusion studies, drug kinetics, and finally for stability studies. Results: Differential scanning calorimeter studies confirmed that there is no drug interaction between drug and excipients. FTIR spectroscopy studies confirmed that there is compatibility between drug and excipients. Regular and spherical shape particles with smooth surface were observed in the SEM photographs. The optimized gel loaded with microspheres of F4 formulation (drug: polymer in 1:4 ratio) is more effective compared to all formulations. The prepared gel showed acceptable physical properties such as spreadability (5.86±0.54 g.cm/s), viscosity (568 cps), pH (6.33±0.55), gel strength (38 s) and drug content (90.00±0.71%). In vitro diffusion studies have shown 80.1±1.92% drug release in 10 h. Drug kinetics follows zero order kinetics and n value was found to be 0.721. Stability studies were done for 3 months. Conclusion: All the results show that the gel loaded with microspheres of apremilast can be effectively used for the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis

Food, Nutrition and Agrobiodiversity Under Global Climate Change

Available evidence and predictions suggest overall negative effects on agricultural production as a result of climate change, especially when more food is required by a growing population. Information on the effects of global warming on pests and pathogens affecting agricultural crops is limited, though crop–pest models could offer means to predict changes in pest dynamics, and help design sound plant health management practices. Host-plant resistance should continue to receive high priority as global warming may favor emergence of new pest epidemics. There is increased risk, due to climate change, to food and feed contaminated by mycotoxin-producing fungi. Mycotoxin biosynthesis gene-specific microarray is being used to identify food-born fungi and associated mycotoxins, and investigate the influence of environmental parameters and their interactions for control of mycotoxin in food crops. Some crop wild relatives are threatened plant species and efforts should be made for their in situ conservation to ensure evolution of new variants, which may contribute to addressing new challenges to agricultural production. There should be more emphasis on germplasm enhancement to develop intermediate products with specific characteristics to support plant breeding. Abiotic stress response is routinely dissected to component physiological traits. Use of transgene(s) has led to the development of transgenic events, which could provide enhanced adaptation to abiotic stresses that are exacerbated by climate change. Global warming is also associated with declining nutritional quality of food crops. Micronutrient-dense cultivars have been released in selected areas of the developing world, while various nutritionally enhanced lines are in the release pipeline. The high-throughput phenomic platforms are allowing researchers to accurately measure plant growth and development, analyze nutritional traits, and assess response to stresses on large sets of individuals. Analogs for tomorrow’s agriculture offer a virtual natural laboratory to innovate and test technological options to develop climate resilience production systems. Increased use of agrobiodiversity is crucial to coping with adverse impacts of global warming on food and feed production and quality. No one solution will suffice to adapt to climate change and its variability. Suits of technological innovations, including climate-resilient crop cultivars, will be needed to feed 9 billion people who will be living in the Earth by the middle of the twenty-first century

Traction forces mediated by integrin signaling are necessary for definitive endoderm specification.

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) exert low-traction forces on their niche in vitro whereas specification to definitive endoderm in vivo coincides with force-mediated motility, suggesting a differentiation-mediated switch. However, the onset of contractility and extent to which force-mediated integrin signaling regulates fate choices is not understood. To address the requirement of tractions forces for differentiation, we examined mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) specification towards definitive endoderm on fibrillar fibronectin containing a deformation-sensitive FRET probe. Inhibiting contractility resulted in an increase in the observed fibronectin FRET intensity ratio but also decreased the amount of phosphorylated nuclear SMAD2, leading to reduced expression of the definitive endoderm marker SOX17. By contrast ESCs maintained in pluripotency medium did not exert significant tractions against the fibronectin matrix. When laminin-111 was added to fibrillar matrices to improve the efficiency of definitive endoderm induction, ESCs decreased their fibronectin traction forces in a laminin-dependent manner; blocking the laminin-binding α3-integrin restored fibronectin matrix deformation and reduced SOX17 expression and SMAD2 phosphorylation, probably because of compensation of inhibitory signaling from SMAD7 after 5 days in culture. These data imply that traction forces and integrin signaling are important regulators of early fate decisions in ESCs

Traction forces mediated by integrin signaling are necessary for definitive endoderm specification

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) exert low-traction forces on their niche in vitro whereas specification to definitive endoderm in vivo coincides with force-mediated motility, suggesting a differentiation-mediated switch. However, the onset of contractility and extent to which force-mediated integrin signaling regulates fate choices is not understood. To address the requirement of tractions forces for differentiation, we examined mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) specification towards definitive endoderm on fibrillar fibronectin containing a deformation-sensitive FRET probe. Inhibiting contractility resulted in an increase in the observed fibronectin FRET intensity ratio but also decreased the amount of phosphorylated nuclear SMAD2, leading to reduced expression of the definitive endoderm marker SOX17. By contrast ESCs maintained in pluripotency medium did not exert significant tractions against the fibronectin matrix. When laminin-111 was added to fibrillar matrices to improve the efficiency of definitive endoderm induction, ESCs decreased their fibronectin traction forces in a laminin-dependent manner; blocking the laminin-binding α3-integrin restored fibronectin matrix deformation and reduced SOX17 expression and SMAD2 phosphorylation, probably because of compensation of inhibitory signaling from SMAD7 after 5 days in culture. These data imply that traction forces and integrin signaling are important regulators of early fate decisions in ESCs

Screening of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Genotypes for Anaerobic Germination

The present investigation was carried out to screen the set of 2000 rice genotypes including germplasm, released varieties, INGER nurseries and elite lines for anaerobic germination trait. Based on initial screening of 2000 genotypes, five hundred lines were selected for further to study the trait based on parameters namely germination percentage, seedling length and vigour index. Frequency distribution was calculated for the three observations under study. Out of five hundred genotypes under study, 16 genotypes were not germinated, while 100 % germination was recorded by 17 genotypes. The seedling length of the germinated seeds was in the range of 1 cm (E 199 and E 282) to 62 cm (E 480), While vigour index was ranged from 20 (E199, E282 and E532) to 4880 (E1777). After repeated screening, 13 entries namely E775, E1810, E596, E1786, E 753, E773, E1846, E1195, E1049, E1772, E1723, E1701 and E1777 were recorded 100% anaerobic germination with high seed vigour index, was identified as tolerant genotypes for the anaerobic germination. These genotypes could be used as parents to introduce anaerobic germination tolerance into improved cultivars to utilize under direct seeded condition