Studies on the Recovery of Bleached Corals in Andaman: Fishes as Indicators of Reef Health

The corals in Andaman and Nicobar Islands suffered extensive bleaching during April 2010 to the extent of 60–70 % due to elevated sea surface temperature (SST) and a significant portion of that is hitherto dead. This study evaluates the degree of recovery of the coral reefs and reef fishes, a year after the event. Line intercept transect (LIT) surveys were conducted in three sites, namely, North Bay, Tarmugli and Chidiyatapu for assessing coral cover together with visual census of reef fishes along the same transects. It was observed that all sites were quite badly affected during the bleaching period with more than 95 % of the corals being fully or partially bleached. Out of the bleached corals, only 54 % recovered at North Bay, whereas Tarmugli and Chidiyatapu exhibited 81 and 86 % recovery, respectively. The collapse of coral reef systems affected the abundance and diversity among fish species. Due to recovery and new recruitment of corals, live coral cover has increased, and consequently,, abundance of fishes seems to have increased. Understanding the associations of fishes and corals could possibly lead to selection of certain species of fishes as indicators of reef health. The results of the study lead to the hypothesis that fishes, especially those belong to the families, Chaetodontidae, Pomacentridae, Acanthuridae and Scaridae can be potential indicators of reef health

Prostate Cancer Treatment Advancement Using External Beam Radiotherapy

Editoria

Retinal photoisomerization versus counterion protonation in light and dark-adapted bacteriorhodopsin and its primary photoproduct

Discovered over 50 years ago, bacteriorhodopsin is the first recognized and most widely studied microbial retinal protein. Serving as a light-activated proton pump, it represents the archetypal ion-pumping system. Here we compare the photochemical dynamics of bacteriorhodopsin light and dark-adapted forms with that of the first metastable photocycle intermediate known as “K”. We observe that following thermal double isomerization of retinal in the dark from bio-active all-trans 15-anti to 13-cis, 15-syn, photochemistry proceeds even faster than the ~0.5 ps decay of the former, exhibiting ballistic wave packet curve crossing to the ground state. In contrast, photoexcitation of K containing a 13-cis, 15-anti chromophore leads to markedly multi-exponential excited state decay including much slower stages. QM/MM calculations, aimed to interpret these results, highlight the crucial role of protonation, showing that the classic quadrupole counterion model poorly reproduces spectral data and dynamics. Single protonation of ASP212 rectifies discrepancies and predicts triple ground state structural heterogeneity aligning with experimental observations. These findings prompt a reevaluation of counter ion protonation in bacteriorhodopsin and contribute to the broader understanding of its photochemical dynamics

Enhancing the Stretchability of Two-Dimensional Materials through Kirigami: A Molecular Dynamics Study on Tungsten Disulfide

In recent years, the 'kirigami' technique has gained significant attention for creating meta-structures and meta-materials with exceptional characteristics, such as unprecedented stretchability. These properties, not typically inherent in the original materials or structures, present new opportunities for applications in stretchable electronics and photovoltaics. However, despite its scientific and practical significance, the application of kirigami patterning on a monolayer of tungsten disulfide (WS2), a van der Waals material with exceptional mechanical, electronic, and optical properties, has remained unexplored. This study utilizes molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the mechanical properties of monolayer WS2 with rectangular kirigami cuts. We find that, under tensile loading, the WS2 based kirigami structure exhibits a notable increase in tensile strain and a decrease in strength, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the kirigami cutting technique in enhancing the stretchability of monolayer WS2. Additionally, increasing the overlap ratio enhances the stretchability of the structure, allowing for tailored high strength or high strain requirements. Furthermore, our observations reveal that increasing the density of cuts and reducing the length-to-width ratio of the kirigami nanosheet further improve the fracture strain, thereby enhancing the overall stretchability of the proposed kirigami patterned structure of WS2.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Quantification of Listeria monocytogenes in salad vegetables by MPN-PCR

The aim of this study was to assess the most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR) technique for detection of Listeria monocytogenes in salad vegetables in comparison with reference EN ISO 11290-2 and Food Drug Administration Bacteriological Analytical Manual method using artifcial and naturally contaminated samples. Based on recovery of L. monocytogenes from artifcially contaminated samples, MPN-PCR showed a moderate correlation (R=0.67) between spiking concentration and microbial levels which was better than the FDA-BAM method (R=0.642) and ISO 11290-2:1998 method (R=0.655). With naturally contaminated samples, it was found that L. monocytogenes was detected in 25% of the vegetable samples using MPN-PCR; 15% of the samples by the FDA-BAM method and 8% of samples using ISO 11290-2:1998 method. Overall, MPN-PCR was found to be a rapid and reliable method that could facilitate the enumeration of L. monocytogenes in vegetables

Long-term groundwater recharge rates across India by in situ measurements

Groundwater recharge sustains groundwater discharge, including natural discharge through springs and the base flow to surface water as well as anthropogenic discharge through pumping wells. Here, for the first time, we compute long-term (1996–2015) groundwater recharge rates using data retrieved from several groundwater-level monitoring locations across India (3.3 million&thinsp;km2 area), the most groundwater-stressed region globally. Spatial variations in groundwater recharge rates (basin-wide mean: 17 to 960&thinsp;mm yr−1) were estimated in the 22 major river basins across India. The extensive plains of the Indus–Ganges–Brahmaputra (IGB) river basins are subjected to prevalence of comparatively higher recharge. This is mainly attributed to occurrence of coarse sediments, higher rainfall, and intensive irrigation-linked groundwater-abstraction inducing recharge by increasing available groundwater storage and return flows. Lower recharge rates (&lt;200&thinsp;mm yr−1) in most of the central and southern study areas occur in cratonic, crystalline fractured aquifers. Estimated recharge rates have been compared favorably with field-scale recharge estimates (n=52) based on tracer (tritium) injection tests. Results show that precipitation rates do not significantly influence groundwater recharge in most of the river basins across India, indicating human influence in prevailing recharge rates. The spatial variability in recharge rates could provide critical input for policymakers to develop more sustainable groundwater management in India.</p

Hypoxia-induced long non-coding RNA Malat1 is dispensable for renal ischemia/reperfusion-injury

Renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI). Non-coding RNAs are crucially involved in its pathophysiology. We identified hypoxia-induced long non-coding RNA Malat1 (Metastasis Associated Lung Adenocarcinoma Transcript 1) to be upregulated in renal I/R injury. We here elucidated the functional role of Malat1 in vitro and its potential contribution to kidney injury in vivo. Malat1 was upregulated in kidney biopsies and plasma of patients with AKI, in murine hypoxic kidney tissue as well as in cultured and ex vivo sorted hypoxic endothelial cells and tubular epithelial cells. Malat1 was transcriptionally activated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1-a. In vitro, Malat1 inhibition reduced proliferation and the number of endothelial cells in the S-phase of the cell cycle. In vivo, Malat1 knockout and wildtype mice showed similar degrees of outer medullary tubular epithelial injury, proliferation, capillary rarefaction, inflammation and fibrosis, survival and kidney function. Small-RNA sequencing and whole genome expression analysis revealed only minor changes between ischemic Malat1 knockout and wildtype mice. Contrary to previous studies, which suggested a prominent role of Malat1 in the induction of disease, we did not confirm an in vivo role of Malat1 concerning renal I/Rinjury

Comparative genomic analysis of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) NOD1 and NOD2 receptors and their functional role in in-vitro cellular immune response

© 2015 Brahma et al. Nucleotide binding and oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors (NLRs) are innate immune receptors that recognize bacterial cell wall components and initiate host immune response. Structure and function of NLRs have been well studied in human and mice, but little information exists on genetic composition and role of these receptors in innate immune system of water buffalo-a species known for its exceptional disease resistance. Here, a comparative study on the functional domains of NOD1 and NOD2 was performed across different species. The NOD mediated in-vitro cellular responses were studied in buffalo peripheral blood mononuclear cells, resident macrophages, mammary epithelial, and fibroblast cells. Buffalo NOD1 (buNOD1) and buNOD2 showed conserved domain architectures as found in other mammals. The domains of buNOD1 and buNOD2 showed analogy in secondary and tertiary conformations. Constitutive expressions of NODs were ubiquitous in different tissues. Following treatment with NOD agonists, peripheral lymphocytes showed an IFN-γ response along-with production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Alveolar macrophages and mammary epithelial cells showed NOD mediated in-vitro immune response through NF-κB dependent pathway. Fibroblasts showed pro-inflammatory cytokine response following agonist treatment. Our study demonstrates that both immune and nonimmune cells could generate NOD-mediated responses to pathogens though the type and magnitude of response depend on the cell types. The structural basis of ligand recognition by buffalo NODs and knowledge of immune response by different cell types could be useful for development of non-infective innate immune modulators and next generation anti-inflammatory compounds

High spatial resolution imaging of methane and other trace gases with the airborne Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES)

Currently large uncertainties exist associated with the attribution and quantification of fugitive emissions of criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases such as methane across large regions and key economic sectors. In this study, data from the airborne Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) have been used to develop robust and reliable techniques for the detection and wide-area mapping of emission plumes of methane and other atmospheric trace gas species over challenging and diverse environmental conditions with high spatial resolution that permits direct attribution to sources. HyTES is a pushbroom imaging spectrometer with high spectral resolution (256 bands from 7.5 to 12 µm), wide swath (1&ndash;2 km), and high spatial resolution (∼ 2 m at 1 km altitude) that incorporates new thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing technologies. In this study we introduce a hybrid clutter matched filter (CMF) and plume dilation algorithm applied to HyTES observations to efficiently detect and characterize the spatial structures of individual plumes of CH4, H2S, NH3, NO2, and SO2 emitters. The sensitivity and field of regard of HyTES allows rapid and frequent airborne surveys of large areas including facilities not readily accessible from the surface. The HyTES CMF algorithm produces plume intensity images of methane and other gases from strong emission sources. The combination of high spatial resolution and multi-species imaging capability provides source attribution in complex environments. The CMF-based detection of strong emission sources over large areas is a fast and powerful tool needed to focus on more computationally intensive retrieval algorithms to quantify emissions with error estimates, and is useful for expediting mitigation efforts and addressing critical science questions