Role of \u3cem\u3ePanicum turgidum\u3c/em\u3e Dominated Rangelands in Conservation of \u3cem\u3eCaralluma edulis\u3c/em\u3e in Thar Desert, India

Rangelands are colonized vast natural landscapes in the form of grasslands. These are mostly dominated by native grass species. Once a patch is colonized by a pioneer species, complex interactions may develop among plants of different species. The frequency of positive interactions has been shown to be high in harsh environments, particular in arid environments, where it has been identified as a driving mechanism of vegetation dynamics (Bruno et al., 2003). These processes commonly involve nurse plants (Niering et al., 1963) that facilitate the establishment of other plants species beneath their canopies (Franco and Nobel, 1988). Based on this principle we hypothesized that Panicum turgidum, Forssk., may act as a potential nurse plant for a number of other plant species in the Thar Desert. In this region, this plant is one of the main component of vegetation patches surrounded by a bare soil matrix, in association with a restricted number of other species. Our objective was to characterize the positive associations of P. turgidum with Caralluma edulis in the Thar Desert. The Thar Desert is characterized by high velocity wind, huge shifting and rolling sand dunes; high diurnal variation of temperature; scarce rainfall; intense solar radiation and high rate of evaporation. Thar Desert receives between 100 to 500 mm of rainfall every year, 90% of which is received between July and September. The sandy soils of the desert have a rapid infiltration rate of water, poor fertility, low humus content due to rapid oxidation and high salinity. Though, all conditions are very hostile for the existence of life, some grasses like Lasiurus sindicus, Panicum turgidum, Dichanthium annulatum, Ochthochloa compressa (syn. Eleusine compressa), Cenchrus ciliaris and Cenchrus setigerus perform well in desert. Among these grasses Panicum turgidum is major component of vegetation on sand dunes. Worldwide, the distribution of P. turgidum extends in the Sahara from Mauritania across North Africa with extensions into the Sahel, and through the Arabian Peninsula to Pakistan and India (Poilecot, 1999). It is a perennial Saharan species of family Poaceae, growing as dense tussocks up to 1.5m in height, and creating dense hillocks up to 0.4m high. P. turgidum is highly resistant to water stress, and is a major component of the vegetation of the inter-mountain zones of the Thar (Poilecot, 1996). The seeds serve as a grain substitute in the diet of the Tuareg inhabitants and the straw as fodder for livestock and as roofing material. P. turgidum is also a component of the diet of wild animals of high conservation value such as Addax nasomaculatus, Blainville, Oryx dammah, Cretzschmar and Struthio camelus, L. (Poilecot, 1999). P. turgidum has the merit of being resistant to drought and also an effective sand-binding xerophyte. Wind-borne sand usually accumulates around the bushes of P. turgidum forming isolated mounds that gradually enlarge and eventually coalesce and form sandy patches

IN VITRO STUDY OF AN AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF ECLIPTA ALBA HASSK. FOR HEPG2 CELL LINE

It is the need of the day to identify the new anticancer herbal drug, which not only in possession of good anticancer effects but also cost effective. Here we are presenting such an anticancer Ayurvedic herb which is used since the centuries for the treatment of different diseases of diverse origin. Eclipta alba Hassk., also called as Bhringraj is very important medicinal herb in many medicinal formulations. Though it is commonly used for hair growth, many evidences found its hepatoprotective activity. Here we are presenting all aspects about Bhringraj in terms of qualitative and quantitative values and we have also tried to prove the anticancer activity of it for hepatic cancer. We have used the aqueous extract of Eclipta alba Hassk. for phytochemical analysis, TLC, HPLC analysis to test active chemical components in it. Extract showed presence of many active chemical components which were responsible for its anticancer activity. In vitro study we used the aqueous extract of Eclipta alba Hassk. for the evaluation of its effects on HepG2 (Human liver cancer cell line). The SRB assay results were used to evaluate the anti-cancer activity of the extract. The effects of whole plant extract on cancer cell line were studied. Percentage of cell growth and cell viability were calculated from tabulated result values of srb assay. The experiment revealed that the average percentage of growth inhibition was 68.74%. Cell viability SRB assay also showed significant growth inhibition, at the same time statistical analysis of SRB assay also proved significant results. The research performed here is very useful for set up of different extract studies of Bhringraj for its anticancer activity

Applied Deep Learning to Identify and Localize Polyps from Endoscopic Images

Deep learning based neural networks have gained popularity for a variety of biomedical imaging applications. In the last few years several works have shown the use of these methods for colon cancer detection and the early results have been promising. These methods can potentially be utilized to assist doctor's and may help in identifying the number of lesions or abnormalities in a diagnosis session. From our literature survey we found out that there is a lack of publicly available labeled data. Thus, as part of this work, we have aimed at open sourcing a dataset which contains annotations of polyps and ulcers. This is the first dataset that's coming from India containing polyp and ulcer images. The dataset can be used for detection and classification tasks. We also evaluated our dataset with several popular deep learning object detection models that's trained on large publicly available datasets and found out empirically that the model trained on one dataset works well on our dataset that has data being captured in a different acquisition device

Development of ciprofloxacin sensor using iron-doped graphitic carbon nitride as transducer matrix: Analysis of ciprofloxacin in blood samples

n the present work, we have synthesized an iron-decorated graphitic carbon nitride (Fe@g-C3N4) composite and employed it for electrochemical sensing of ciprofloxacin (CFX). The physicochemical characteristics of the Fe@g-C3N4composite were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX) spectroscopy methods. Further, the pencil graphite electrode (PGE) was modified with Fe@g-C3N4 composite to get PGE/Fe@g-C3N4 electrode and characterized the resultant electrode by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was employed to determine the effect of concentration and interferents. The modified PGE/Fe@g-C3N4electrode demonstrated the exceptional electrochemical performance for CFX identification and quantification with a LOD of 5.4 nM, a wide linear range of 0.001-1.0 μM, and high sensitivity of 0.0018 μA mM-1cm-2. Besides, Fe@g-C3N4 modified PGE showed remarkable recovery results in qualitative analysis of CFX in human blood specimens. This research advocates that the Fe@g-C3N4 composite acts as an excellent transducer material in the electrochemical sensing of CFX in blood and standard samples. Further, the proposed strategy deduces that the PGE/Fe@g-C3N4 sensor can be a prospective candidate for the dynamic determination of CFX in blood serum and possibly ratified as an exceptional drug sensor for therapeutic purposes

Aberrant Thyroid in the Parapharyngeal Space

Introduction Aberrant thyroid is a mass of tissue having the structure of a normal or pathological thyroid gland and situated at some definite distance from normal thyroid, with which it has no connection. The prevalance of ectopic thyroid is 1 case per 100,000- 300,000 persons1 and the incidence of aberrant thyroid in parapharyngeal space is even rarer. Materials and Methods A rare case of aberrant thyroid in parapharyngeal space is reported, which presented as oropharyngeal mass and dysphagia. She also had   thyroid gland in the usual position. Result She was managed surgically with transcervical approach and was euthyroid postoperatively. Conclusion Aberrant thyroid should be one of the differential diagnoses for parapharyngeal space masses

Fabrication of 1D graphene nanoribbon and malenized linseed oil-based nanocomposite: a highly impervious bio-based anti-corrosion coating material for mild steel

Graphene nanoribbon (GNR) is a flat ribbon-like 1D nanomaterial of graphene family rarely explored in the development of anti-corrosion coatings. In the present work, a bio-based anti-corrosion coating was fabricated using GNR as nanofiller in malenized linseed oil (MLO) polymer network. MLO polymer network was first prepared from commercially available linseed oil by malenization reaction at 80 degrees C using maleic anhydride. Later, GNR was synthesized from multiwalled carbon nanotube by oxidative unzipping method and incorporated into MLO polymer network to obtain the bio-based MLO-GNR nanocomposite. The as-prepared MLO and MLO-GNR coating materials were spin coated onto bare mild steel samples and cured at 80 degrees C for 24 h. The morphology and surface characteristics of coatings were studied by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Further, the anti-corrosion behaviour of bare and coated MS samples was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance methods in a 3.5% NaCl medium. Among the samples, MLO-GNRcoated samples exhibited a high level of corrosion inhibition in the saline medium compared to uncoated MS sample as the damages and destruction activity were more on its surface than their counterparts. MLO-GNR nanocomposite coating exhibited robust corrosion resistance activity and showed 99.9% protection efficiency. Further, the MLO-GNR coating displayed higher stability in the saline medium as well as open-air environment establishing that the flat GNR molecule acts as excellent nanofiller in MLO polymer network to produce robust anti-corrosion activity leading to protection of mild steel. GRAPHICS]

The presence and dosimetry of radon and thoron in a historical, underground metalliferous mine

A combination of long term passive, and short term active radon-222, radon-220 and respective progeny measurements were conducted in both traverse and longitudinal axes of a historical metalliferous underground mine in North Queensland, Australia. While the passive monitor results provided average radon and thoron air concentrations over periods of 70–90 days, active measurements over a four day period provided significantly more detail into the dynamics of radon and progeny concentrations in the naturally ventilated mine environment. Passive monitor concentrations for radon and thoron ranged between 60 and 390 Bq m−3 (mean: 140 ± 55 Bq m−3) and 140 and 2600 Bq m−3 (mean: 1070 ± 510 Bq m−3) respectively, with passive thoron progeny monitors providing a mean concentration of 9 ± 5 Bq m−3EEC. Active measurement mean concentrations for radon, thoron, radon progeny and thoron progeny in the centre of the mine drive were 130 ± 90 Bq m−3, 300 ± 100 Bq m−3, 20 ± 20 Bq m−3EEC and 10 ± 10 Bq m−3EEC respectively.It was identified that thoron passive detector placement is critical in establishing reliable monitoring data, and is the reason for the discrepancy between the active and passive thoron results in this study. Site specific progeny measurements are required for the accurate estimation of dose to persons entering the mine. Based on short term active measurements and passive thoron progeny monitor results, the dose contribution from thoron and progeny in the mine was observed to contribute up to 80% of the total radon/thoron inhalation dose, and therefore should not be underestimated in monitoring programs under similar conditions

Bio-nanotechnology application in wastewater treatment

The nanoparticles have received high interest in the field of medicine and water purification, however, the nanomaterials produced by chemical and physical methods are considered hazardous, expensive, and leave behind harmful substances to the environment. This chapter aimed to focus on green-synthesized nanoparticles and their medical applications. Moreover, the chapter highlighted the applicability of the metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) in the inactivation of microbial cells due to their high surface and small particle size. Modifying nanomaterials produced by green-methods is safe, inexpensive, and easy. Therefore, the control and modification of nanoparticles and their properties were also discussed

Uncertainty-aware spot rejection rate as quality metric for proton therapy using a digital tracking calorimeter

Objective. Proton therapy is highly sensitive to range uncertainties due to the nature of the dose deposition of charged particles. To ensure treatment quality, range verification methods can be used to verify that the individual spots in a pencil beam scanning treatment fraction match the treatment plan. This study introduces a novel metric for proton therapy quality control based on uncertainties in range verification of individual spots. Approach. We employ uncertainty-aware deep neural networks to predict the Bragg peak depth in an anthropomorphic phantom based on secondary charged particle detection in a silicon pixel telescope designed for proton computed tomography. The subsequently predicted Bragg peak positions, along with their uncertainties, are compared to the treatment plan, rejecting spots which are predicted to be outside the 95% confidence interval. The such-produced spot rejection rate presents a metric for the quality of the treatment fraction. Main results. The introduced spot rejection rate metric is shown to be well-defined for range predictors with well-calibrated uncertainties. Using this method, treatment errors in the form of lateral shifts can be detected down to 1 mm after around 1400 treated spots with spot intensities of 1 × 107 protons. The range verification model used in this metric predicts the Bragg peak depth to a mean absolute error of 1.107 ± 0.015 mm. Significance. Uncertainty-aware machine learning has potential applications in proton therapy quality control. This work presents the foundation for future developments in this area.publishedVersio

The role of ARF6 in biliary atresia

Background & Aims: Altered extrahepatic bile ducts, gut, and cardiovascular anomalies constitute the variable phenotype of biliary atresia (BA). Methods: To identify potential susceptibility loci, Caucasian children, normal (controls) and with BA (cases) at two US centers were compared at >550000 SNP loci. Systems biology analysis was carried out on the data. In order to validate a key gene identified in the analysis, biliary morphogenesis was evaluated in 2-5-day post-fertilization zebrafish embryos after morpholino-antisense oligonucleotide knockdown of the candidate gene ADP ribosylation factor-6 (ARF6, Mo-arf6). Results: Among 39 and 24 cases at centers 1 and 2, respectively, and 1907 controls, which clustered together on principal component analysis, the SNPs rs3126184 and rs10140366 in a 3' flanking enhancer region for ARF6 demonstrated higher minor allele frequencies (MAF) in each cohort, and 63 combined cases, compared with controls (0.286 vs. 0.131, P = 5.94 x 10-7, OR 2.66; 0.286 vs. 0.13, P = 5.57 x 10-7, OR 2.66). Significance was enhanced in 77 total cases, which included 14 additional BA genotyped at rs3126184 only (p = 1.58 x 10-2, OR = 2.66). Pathway analysis of the 1000 top-ranked SNPs in CHP cases revealed enrichment of genes for EGF regulators (p<1 x 10-7), ERK/MAPK and CREB canonical pathways (p<1 x 10-34), and functional networks for cellular development and proliferation (p<1 x 10-45), further supporting the role of EGFR-ARF6 signaling in BA. In zebrafish embryos, Mo-arf6 injection resulted in a sparse intrahepatic biliary network, several biliary epithelial cell defects, and poor bile excretion to the gall bladder compared with uninjected embryos. Biliary defects were reproduced with the EGFR-blocker AG1478 alone or with Mo-arf6 at lower doses of each agent and rescued with arf6 mRNA. Conclusions: The BA-associated SNPs identify a chromosome 14q21.3 susceptibility locus encompassing the ARF6 gene. arf6 knockdown in zebrafish implicates early biliary dysgenesis as a basis for BA, and also suggests a role for EGFR signaling in BA pathogenesis