Electrochemical Studies on 2- & 3-Mercaptopropionic Acids

997-99

Impedance Spectroscopy: A Powerful Technique for Study of Electronic Ceramics

Electronic ceramics are technological materials having a vast variety of applications such as actuators and sensors, computer memories, electrically controlled microwave tuning devices for RADAR, etc. and are playing key role in electronics industry today. An electronic ceramic component can be visualised as grain-grain boundary-electrode system. Impedance spectroscopy is being widely used to separate out contributions of these to the overall property of a ceramic. This involves equivalent circuit models. To facilitate development of suitable equivalent circuit models and obtain values of the components, some most useful circuits with their simulated behaviour are presented. Steps highly useful in the modelling process are summarised. The procedure of impedance spectroscopy is illustrated by analysing the impedance data of the ceramic system BaFexTi1-xO3 (x = 0.05) containing two phases

MOLECULAR ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY IN INDIAN ACCESSIONS OF ALOE VERA USING SSR MARKER

Objective: In this study Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. collected from 12 states covering all the different agro-climatic zones of India were investigated for its genetic diversity analysis by using SSR marker assay.Methods: Total genomic DNA was isolated from young leaf samples using CTAB method. Twenty primers were selected which were used for Asparagus officinalis L a related species of A. vera and others were developed from available Aloe vera plant sequences with the help of primer 3 software. Similarity matrices and dendrogram were constructed by using NTSys software to show a phenetic representation of the genetic relationship. Polymorphic Information Content (PIC), the effective multiplex ratio (EMR) and Marker Index (MI) were calculated for the assessment of genetic diversity.Results: The neighbor-joining tree based on all SSR fragments of twelve Aloe vera germplasm accessions grouped into three major clusters. The similarity value ranged from 46 % to 100 %. The highest 100 % similarity was noted between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh accessions followed by 93% similarity between Haryana and Punjab accessions with Rajasthan. Minimum similarity was noted between Gujarat and Kerala accessions.Conclusion: This study revealed the rich genetic diversity among Aloe vera accessions from different agro-climatic zones of India. It is also concluded that SSR marker analysis can be a useful tool for the assessment of genetic diversity of the medicinal plants.Â

Complexes of Co(II), Ni(II) & Cu(II) with 4-Methyl-2-aminothiazole & 4-Phenyl-2-aminothiazole

206-20

Association of iron deficiency anemia in children with febrile convulsions

:To determine the association of iron deficiency anemia in children presented with febrile convulsion. Study Design: Case control study Setting: The pediatric unit III,Civil Hospital,Karachi. Duration: Six months from 30th April 2013 to 1st November 2013 Material and Methods: History regarding age, sex, developmental milestones, family history of febrile seizures or epilepsy, mean of the temperature peak at admission, and the underlying illness were recorded for all cases and controls, as well as details of seizure history, duration and frequency. Blood samples were collected in the Paediatric wardsfor measurements of hemoglobin, serum ferritin, MCV, MCH and MCHC, serum electrolytes, serum calcium, and serum blood sugar. If child with febrile seizures was \u3c12 months then CSF analysis was done to rule out meningitis, with consent from parents/guardian, while in older children signs of meningeal irritation were checked

Cathepsin B cysteine protease gene is upregulated during leaf senescence and exhibits differential expression behavior in response to phytohormones in Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth.

AbstractMedicinal importance of Picrorhiza (Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth — an herb of western Himalayan region) and its endangered status in Red Data Book presses an urgent need for intensive R&D interventions towards ensuring its availability for the medicinal use, its sustainability and improvement. The present study was conducted on cathepsin B cysteine protease in Picrorhiza. Cathepsin B cysteine protease has been reported to function in diverse processes such as senescence, abscission, programmed cell death, fruit ripening and in response to pathogen and pest attacks. A full-length cDNA-Pk-cbcp encoding cathepsin B-like cysteine protease was cloned from Picrorhiza. The full length Pk-cbcp cDNA consisted of 1369bp with an open reading frame of 1080bp, 80bp 5′ untranslated region and 209bp 3′ untranslated region. The deduced Pk-cbcp protein contained 359 amino acids with a molecular weight of 39.981kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.75. Secondary structure analysis revealed that Pk-cbcp had 28.97% α-helices, 14.48% β-turns, 19.50% extended strands and 37.05% random coils. Semi-quantitative PCR analysis revealed 157% higher expression of Pk-cbcp during senescence compared to that of pre-senescence. Further, application of phytohormones abscisic acid, jasmonic acid and cytokinin influenced the temporal expression status of Pk-cbcp. Abscisic acid and jasmonic acid increased the expression level whereas cytokinin reduced the expression. The findings suggest the role of Pk-cbcp in leaf senescence in Picrorhiza which may be differentially mediated through phytohormones

Discovery of miRNAs and Development of Heat-Responsive miRNA-SSR Markers for Characterization of Wheat Germplasm for Terminal Heat Tolerance Breeding

A large proportion of the Asian population fulfills their energy requirements from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Wheat quality and yield are critically affected by the terminal heat stress across the globe. It affects approximately 40% of the wheat-cultivating regions of the world. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop improved terminal heat-tolerant wheat varieties. Marker-assisted breeding with genic simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers have been used for developing terminal heat-tolerant wheat varieties; however, only few studies involved the use of microRNA (miRNA)-based SSR markers (miRNASSRs) in wheat, which were found as key players in various abiotic stresses. In the present study, we identified 104 heat-stress-responsive miRNAs reported in various crops. Out of these, 70 miRNA-SSR markers have been validated on a set of 20 terminal heat-tolerant and heat-susceptible wheat genotypes. Among these, only 19 miRNA-SSR markers were found to be polymorphic, which were further used to study the genetic diversity and population structure. The polymorphic miRNA-SSRs amplified 61 SSR loci with an average of 2.9 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content (PIC) value of polymorphic miRNA-SSRs ranged from 0.10 to 0.87 with a mean value of 0.48. The dendrogram constructed using unweighted neighbor-joining method and population structure analysis clustered these 20 wheat genotypes into 3 clusters. The target genes of these miRNAs are involved either directly or indirectly in providing tolerance to heat stress. Furthermore, two polymorphic markers miR159c and miR165b were declared as very promising diagnostic markers, since these markers showed specific alleles and discriminated terminal heat-tolerant genotypes from the susceptible genotypes. Thus, these identified miRNA-SSR markers will prove useful in the characterization of wheat germplasm through the study of genetic diversity and population structural analysis and in wheat molecular breeding programs aimed at terminal heat tolerance of wheat varieties

Molecular Detection of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) by Conventional One-step RT-PCR Coupled with Nested PCR

Aims: HCV causes both acute and chronic infections and can be easily transmitted through contaminated blood or other body fluids. The present study deals with the molecular detection of HCV with help of one-step RT-PCR assay followed by nested PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis. Study Design: RNA extracted from the confirmed positive samples of HCV was utilized for the standardization of the one-step RT-PCR assay and nested PCR assay for diagnosis of HCV. Place and Duration of Study: Centre for Biotechnology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak Haryana, India, during period of one year (January-December 2015). Methodology: HCV positive samples were obtained from Department of Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), New Delhi, India. Published primers from most conserved regions of HCV were taken and these primers were able to amplify all the strains of HCV. One-step RT-PCR kits, primers, extracted RNA from these positive samples were used for standardization of molecular diagnostic assays. The results were checked by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. Results: Positive samples of HCV were detected by nested PCR. Positive samples showed sharp band of 405bp while there was no amplification in the negative control. Conclusion: Rapid tests have low sensitivity and specificity while molecular assays are rapid, sensitive and specific. Conventional one-step RT-PCR assay followed by nested PCR is rapid, specific, sensitive and it is also less costly than real-time RT-PCR. Cost of an assay is an important factor in controlling a disease in resource limited settings of developing countries

Detection of Mycobacterium leprae DNA for 36kDa protein in urine from leprosy patients: a preliminary report

We have searched for Mycobacterium leprae DNA for 36kDa protein in urine using a M. leprae specific PCR technique. A limited number of 16 patients (of which 11 belonged to lepromatous leprosy and five to tuberculoid leprosy) and eight healthy individuals were included for the present study. The number of urine samples positive by PCR were 36.4% (4/11) in lepromatous patients and 40% (2/5) in tuberculoid patients. None of the samples from healthy individuals was positive. To our knowledge, the results indicate, for the first time, the presence of M. leprae DNA in urine from leprosy patients. Another important finding obtained out of the study is that amongst treated patients 66.6% (4/6) were positive whereas amongst untreated only 20% (2/10) were positive. From the present indicative data it appears that treatment improves the PCR results with urine as a sample. Thus, the approach could prove to be useful for monitoring the treatment response of individual patients and needs to be further evaluated with a large number of patients.Pesquisamos o DNA do Mycobacterium leprae para proteína 36 kDa na urina usando a técnica do PCR específica para M. leprae. Um número limitado de 16 pacientes (dos quais 11 tinham hanseníase multibacilar e cinco hanseníase paucibacilar) e oito indivíduos saudáveis foram incluídos neste estudo. O número de amostras de urina positivas pelo PCR foi de 36,4% (4/11) em pacientes com hanseníase multibacilar e 40% (2/5) em pacientes com hanseníase paucibacilar. Nenhuma das amostras de indivíduos saudáveis foi positiva. Até onde chega o nosso conhecimento, os resultados indicam, pela primeira vez, a presença de DNA do M. leprae na urina de pacientes com hanseníase. Outro fato importante obtido através do exame é que entre os pacientes tratados 66.6% (4/6) eram positivos enquanto entre os não tratados somente 20% (2/10) foram positivos. Pelos presentes dados indicativos parece que o tratamento melhora os resultados do PCR em amostra de urina. Assim, o acesso a estes dados prova ser útil no monitoramento da resposta ao tratamento de pacientes individuais e precisa ser melhor avaliado com um grande número de pacientes