Genetic diversity and population structure of Barilius barna (Hamilton, 1822) in the sub-Himalayan Dooars region of West Bengal, India through Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I Sequence analyses

The genetic diversity and the population structure of Barilius barna (Hamilton, 1822) wild population from the Teesta River were assessed through mtDNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequence analyses. The haplotype and nucleotide diversity analyses revealed low level of genetic diversity in the B. barna wild populations, especially in the lower reaches of Teesta (Bholarhat). The genetic differentiation and gene flow between the two study sites were 0.08434 and 2.71, respectively. Tajima’s D, Fu and Li’s D and Fu and Li’s F analyses were used to assess population differentiation in the two study sites. Haplotype networking and phylogenetic analyses clearly distinguished the two populations from each other, as well as from other populations from other parts of the country. Nature and implications of the genetic and haplotype diversities among the populations are discussed. Phylogenetic analyses also indicated that the Gajoldoba population is genetically closer to north Indian river populations, than that to Bholarhat population

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: MOLECULAR BASIS AND CURES FROM NATURE

Incidences of arthritic diseases in human have seen recent increases which are thought to have resulted from a complex interplay of several factors, such as changes in lifestyle, nutritional insufficiencies, aging and genetic factors. These putative factors possibly lead to different arthritic diseases in humans affecting 2-5% of the total population in India. This group of diseases results in serious malfunction and structural abnormalities in the patient body leading to permanent and substantial immovability of joints. Conventional medicinal systems usually elicit various side effects in which the defence mechanism of the body i.e. the immune system is compromised. In the last few decades many alternative medicinal systems have been developed that show promising effects on treating such diseases. Many purified compounds from natural origin, both from plants and animal sources have shown promise and many new compounds are continuingly being identified which have no marked side effects. In the light of modern science and technology, different natural products and ethnic practices that ensure health, seem to be the best weapon to combat these diseases. Endemic as well as naturalized plants from India have been screened by several groups for their anti-arthritic activities. The review summarizes our current knowledge on the molecular basis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and discusses the efficacious roles of those natural products, especially of plant origin, in arthritic conditions

Trend analysis and forecasting coconut production in Assam

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ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND PROTECTIVE PROPERTIES OF ALOE VERA LEAF CRUDE GEL IN CARRAGEENAN INDUCED ACUTE INFLAMMATORY RAT MODELS

Objectives: Current clinical treatment regimes for inflammatory diseases have different drawbacks including side effects of the drugs and the high cost of long term treatment. In the last few decades different promising herbal medicines have been explored for their anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic effects, but conclusive evidences are not available in the case of crude Aloe vera gel for its anti-inflammatory effects. The objective of the study was to document the protective and curative roles of orally administered and peritoneally injected crude wild Aloe vera gel in carrageenan-induced inflammation in a rat model. Methods: Inflammation was induced by injecting 1% carrageenan in the left hind paw of Wistar albino rat. Crude, unprocessed Aloe vera gel was peritoneally injected and orally fed to experimental and control rat groups to investigate its effect on paw joint edema by measuring the paw circumference with vernier caliper. MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] cell viability assay was performed to investigate the cytotoxic effect of the gel. Results: Paw edema was brought to near normal levels in the experimental groups after the treatment with crude Aloe vera gel. Orally fed gel showed no cytotoxicity on macrophages and spleenocytes. Protective property of crude Aloe gel was also evident in both the experiments. Conclusion: Aloe vera crude gel has both protective and curative properties against inflammation

Pushable chromatic number of graphs with degree constraints

Pushable homomorphisms and the pushable chromatic number $\chi_p$ of oriented graphs were introduced by Klostermeyer and MacGillivray in 2004. They notably observed that, for any oriented graph $\overrightarrow{G}$, we have $\chi_p(\overrightarrow{G}) \leq \chi_o(\overrightarrow{G}) \leq 2 \chi_p(\overrightarrow{G})$, where $\chi_o(\overrightarrow{G})$ denotes the oriented chromatic number of $\overrightarrow{G}$. This stands as first general bounds on $\chi_p$. This parameter was further studied in later works.This work is dedicated to the pushable chromatic number of oriented graphs fulfilling particular degree conditions. For all $\Delta \geq 29$, we first prove that the maximum value of the pushable chromatic number of an oriented graph with maximum degree $\Delta$ lies between $2^{\frac{\Delta}{2}-1}$ and $(\Delta-3) \cdot (\Delta-1) \cdot 2^{\Delta-1} + 2$ which implies an improved bound on the oriented chromatic number of the same family of graphs. For subcubic oriented graphs, that is, when $\Delta \leq 3$, we then prove that the maximum value of the pushable chromatic number is~$6$ or~$7$. We also prove that the maximum value of the pushable chromatic number of oriented graphs with maximum average degree less than~$3$ lies between~$5$ and~$6$. The former upper bound of~$7$ also holds as an upper bound on the pushable chromatic number of planar oriented graphs with girth at least~$6$

Structural and magnetic characterization of two tetranuclear Cu(II) complexes with closed‐cubane‐like core framework

Two novel tetranuclear Cu(II) complexes [Cu4(L1)4]·3(H2O) (1) and [Cu4(H2L2)4(H2O)4] (2) ( H2L1 = (E)-2-((1-hydroxybutan-2-ylimino)methyl)phenol; H4L2 = 2-((2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)amino)-2-hydroxymethylpropane-1,3-diol) were synthesized from the self-assembly of copper(II) perchlorate and the tridentate Schiff base ligands. Both complexes crystallize in the tetragonal system with space group I 41/a and form tetranuclear species with closed-cubane like core framework. Both the complexes possess a S4 axis but of different stereochemistry due to the different arrangement of the ligands about the copper ions. Variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate an overall weak antiferromagnetic exchange coupling in 1, while ferromagnetic exchange coupling in 2. In agreement with their closed-cubane structure, the magnetic behavior of the two complexes have been studied by employing the isotropic spin Hamiltonian of type H = J1 (S1S3 + S1S4 + S2S3 + S2S4) - J2 (S1S2 + S3S4) (J1 describes the magnetic exchange coupling between the four Cu(II) pairs with short Cu···Cu distances, while J2 characterizes the magnetic exchange coupling between the remaining two intermetallic pairs with long distances). The PHI program was used to study their magnetic behavior. A good agreement between the experimental and fitted curves was found with the following parameters: g = 2.14, J1 = -20.3 cm-1 and J2 = 0 cm-1 for 1 and g = 2.10, J1 = 101.1 cm-1 and J2 = -51.5 cm-1 for 2

SRF is required for maintenance of astrocytes in non-reactive state in the mammalian brain

Astrocytes play several critical roles in the normal functioning of the mammalian brain, including ion homeostasis, synapse formation, and synaptic plasticity. Following injury and infection or in the setting of neurodegeneration, astrocytes become hypertrophic and reactive, a process termed astrogliosis. Although acute reactive gliosis is beneficial in limiting further tissue damage, chronic gliosis becomes detrimental for neuronal recovery and regeneration. Several extracellular factors have been identified that generate reactive astrocytes; however, very little is known about the cell-autonomous transcriptional mechanisms that regulate the maintenance of astrocytes in the normal non-reactive state. Here, we show that conditional deletion of the stimulus-dependent transcription factor, serum response factor (SRF) in astrocytes