A Novel DNA Sequence Compression Method Based on Chaos Game Representation

Unique signature images derived out of Chaos Game Representation of bio-sequences is an area of research that has been confined to pattern recognition applications. In this paper we pose and answer an interesting question – can we reproduce a bio-sequence in a lossless way given the co-ordinates of the final point in its CGR image? We show that it is possible in principle, but would need enormous resolution for representation of coordinates, roughly corresponding to the information content of direct binary coding of the sequence. We go on to show that we can code nucleotide codon triplets using this method in which 16 codons can be coded using 4 bits, the remaining 48 using 6 bits. Theoretically up to 11% compression is possible with this method. However, algorithm overheads reduce this to very nominal compression percentage of less than 4% for human genome and 9% for bacterial genome. We report the results on a subset of standard test sequences and also an independent wider data set

PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF WHOLE PLANT POWDER OF INDONEESIELLA ECHIOIDES (L.) SREEM.

The plant Indoneesiella echioides (L.) Sreem. belonging to the family Acanthaceae, is a less known medicinal plant widely distributed in the Tropical India and Srilanka. The only mentioning of this drug is in the Hortus Malabaricus, a treatise on the plant wealth of Malabar during the 17th century. The reference depicted is for fever and poison indicating the time old application of the drug by traditional Ayurvedic practitioners. The drug is neither included in Ayurvedic pharmacopeia nor currently been used in Ayurvedic practice. Research works of the drug is done mostly with extracts of leaves and aerial parts. This paper deals with the preliminary phytochemical analysis of the whole plant powder. Apart from the available results of qualitative analysis, quantitative determination of fiber content, tannin content, total sugars, reducing sugars, phenols, extractive values and successive solvent extraction of the whole plant powder has been done in this study. The results obtained for the quantitative determination of tannins, total sugars, reducing sugars and phenols were 3.187%, 10.99%, 4.11% and 27.979 microgram/gram respectively. Variations were noted in the physico-chemical parameters such as total ash (6.77%), moisture content (9.55%) and crude fiber content (50.866%) comparing to the corresponding values of leaves extract. The influence of regional climatic conditions, (Desapradhanyata) is also evident from the study. Among the extractive values, water soluble extractives exceeded the alcohol soluble extractives which revalidate the usage of water based formulations in Ayurvedic science

Gold nanoparticles approach to detect chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid urothelial coating

This study investigated the location of hyaluronic acid (HA)-and chondroitin sulphate (CS)-coated gold nanoparticles in rabbit bladder and evaluated gene expression of CD44, RHAMM and ICAM-1 receptors involved in HA and CS transport into the cell. Gold nanoparticles were synthesised by reduction of gold salts with HA or CS to form HA-AuNPs and CS-AuNPs. Bladder samples were incubated with CS-AuNPs and HA-AuNPs or without glycosaminoglycans. Transmission electron microscopy, optic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the location of the synthesised AuNPs. Real-time PCR was used to analyse expression of urothelial cell receptors CD44, RHAMM, ICAM-1, after ex vivo administration of CS-AuNPs and HA-AuNPs. We showed that HA-AuNPs and CS-AuNPs were located in the cytoplasm and tight junctions of urothelial umbrella cells; this appearance was absent in untreated bladders. There were no significant differences in gene expression levels for CD44, RHAMM and ICAM-1 receptors in treated versus control bladder tissues. In conclusion, we clearly showed the presence of exogenous GAGs in the bladder surface and the tight junctions between umbrella cells, which is important in the regeneration pathway of the urothelium. The GAGs-AuNPs offer a promising approach to understanding the biophysical properties and imaging of urothelial tissue

Does E-Marketing Mix Influence Brand Loyalty and Popularity of E-Commerce Websites?

E-commerce portals are increasing exponentially in terms of both business and data. Many organizations rely on their online websites to attract new customers, while still retaining their existing ones. E-commerce websites provide consumers with flexibility in terms of time, price, and space, during their purchases. The traditional marketing mix comprising of product, price, place and promotion (4Ps) identifies important factors in a purchase journey. In the online environment the concept of the marketing mix remains the same, except that the characteristics and functions of each factor are dynamic, suiting the online marketplace. The e-marketing mix, namely e-product, price intelligence (price sensitivity), delivery risk (place) and promotional intelligence, influences consumer buying-decisions in online markets. This research is an attempt to find the effect of the e-marketing mix on the loyalty and popularity of e-commerce sites. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and was analyzed using a structural equation modeling-partial least squares method. The results showed that brand popularity was significantly influenced by the characteristics of the product and intelligent promotional techniques. Brand popularity had an influence on brand loyalty in an electronic marketing space

Phylogenetic relationships of Indian caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) inferred from mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences

India has a diverse caecilian fauna, including representatives of three of the six currently recognized families, the Caeciliidae, Ichthyophiidae, the endemic Uraeotyphlidae, but previous molecular phylogenetic studies of caecilians have not included sequences for any Indian caecilians. Partial 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene sequences were obtained for a single representative of each of the caecilian families found in India and aligned against previously reported sequences for 13 caecilian species. The resulting alignment (16 taxa, 1200 sites, of which 288 cannot be aligned unambiguously) was analyzed using parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and distance methods. As judged by bootstrap proportions, decay indices, and leaf stabilities, well-supported relationships of the Indian caecilians are recovered from the alignment. The data (1) corroborate the hypothesis, based on morphology, that the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae are sister taxa, (2) recover a monophyletic Ichthyophiidae, including Indian and South East Asian representatives, and (3) place the Indian caeciliid Gegeneophis ramaswamii as the sister group of the caeciliid caecilians of the Seychelles. Rough estimates of divergence times suggest an origin of the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae while India was isolated from Laurasia and Africa and are most consistent with an Indian origin of these families and subsequent dispersal of ichthyophiids into South East Asia

Outcomes of early and interval laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis at a teaching hospital in Kerala: A prospective observational comparative study

Timing of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a widely used treatment modality for acute cholecystitis remains controversial. This prospective observational comparative study investigated patient outcomes for early (ELC) and interval laparoscopic cholecystectomy (ILC) in patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to the General Surgery Department at a tertiary care centre in Thrissur, Kerala, between December 2018 and June 2020. Of 67 patients, 34 were assigned to ELC and 33 to ILC groups and followed up for 2 weeks post-surgery. Patient characteristics, clinical features, investigations, intra operative details and post operative outcomes were tabulated. Comparison of age was statistically analyzed using student’s ‘t’ test, demographics and morbidity data using Fisher’s exact test/ Chi-square test and length of hospital stay using Mann Whitney U test. Mean age was significantly higher in the ILC group. 66% of study participants were females with a higher proportion of females observed in the ILC group. Post-surgical complications were not significantly higher in ELC group compared to ILC group. Total length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the ILC group than in ELC group (10.2 ±4.5 vs. 7.1 ±3.0) days, p value: 0.001). Duration of hospital stay for the laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedure taken separately, was longer in ELC group comparatively, 7 ±3.01 versus 4 ±-2.38, (p value: <0.001). There was no mortality. It was observed in the present study that ELC is preferable to ILC for acute cholecystitis with added benefit of shorter hospital stay. Further large randomized trials would be valuable to make recommendations for future management

Hyaluronan derived nanoparticle for simvastatin delivery: evaluation of simvastatin induced myotoxicity in tissue engineered skeletal muscle

Statins are currently the most prescribed hypercholesterolemia-lowering drugs worldwide, with estimated usage approaching one-sixth of the population. However, statins are known to cause pleiotropic skeletal myopathies in 1.5% to 10% of patients and the mechanisms by which statins induce this response, are not fully understood. In this study, a 3D collagen-based tissue-engineered skeletal muscle construct is utilised as a screening platform to test the efficacy and toxicity of a new delivery system. A hyaluronic acid derived nanoparticle loaded with simvastatin (HA-SIM-NPs) is designed and the effect of free simvastatin and HA-SIM-NPs on cellular, molecular and tissue response is investigated. Morphological ablation of myotubes and lack of de novo myotube formation (regeneration) was evident at the highest concentrations (333.33 μM), independent of delivery vehicle (SIM or HA-SIM-NP). A dose-dependent disruption of the cytoskeleton, reductions in metabolic activity and tissue engineered (TE) construct tissue relaxation was evident in the free drug condition (SIM, 3.33 μM and 33.33 nM). However, most of these changes were ameliorated when SIM was delivered via HA-SIM-NPs. Significantly, homogeneous expressions of MMP2, MMP9, and myogenin in HA-SIM-NPs outlined enhanced regenerative responses compared to SIM. Together, these results outline statin delivery via HA-SIM-NP as an effective delivery mechanism to inhibit deleterious myotoxic side-effects

Satellite-based assessment of the August 2018 flood in parts of Kerala, India

From 1 June to 29 August 2018, Kerala, a state in southwestern India, recorded 36% excess rainfall than normal levels, leading to widespread floods and landslides events and resulting in 445 deaths. In this study, satellite-based data were used to map the flood inundation in the districts of Thrissur, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Idukki and Kottayam. Specifically, flood delineation was enabled with Sentinel-1A radar data of 21 August 2018 and was compared with an average pre-flood, water-cover map based on Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) that was developed using a January and February 2018 Sentinel-2A dataset. A 90% increase in water cover was observed during the August 2018 flood event. Low lying areas in the coastal plains of Kuttanad and the Kole lands of Thrissur, had marked a rise of up to 5 and 10 m of water, respectively, during this deluge. These estimates are conservative as that the flood waters had started receding prior to the August 21 Sentinel-1A imagery