Effect of antihistaminics on amplitude of rabbit gut

Background: The small intestine, like the rest of the gastrointestinal tract, is an intelligent organ. It generates a wide variety of motor patterns to meet motility requirements in different situations. Its basic motor function after a meal is to mix the chyme with exocrine and intestinal secretions, agitate its contents too.Methods: In vitro study is done to explore the effect of 1st generation antihistaminic (chlorpheniramine maleate) and second generation antihistaminic (Fexofenadine) on amplitude of gut motility by isolated rabbit gut preparation on Dale’s Organ bath, part of terminal ileum is used for study. Eight rabbits weighing 2 to 4.5 kg were used for study. The effect of antihistaminic observed that both drugs reduce amplitude.Results: The effect of Chlorpheniramine malete and Fexofenadine on amplitude observed and it found that both decrease the amplitude significantly.Conclusions: This study establishes a correlation between amplitude of gut and effect of antihistaminic suggests that antihistaminic drug both first generation and second generation decreases the amplitude of gut motility with a significant response

Selaginella bryopteris

The effective long-term cryopreservation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is an essential prerequisite step and represents a critical approach for their sustained supply in basic research, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering applications. Therefore, attempts have been made in the present investigation to formulate a freezing solution consisting of a combination of Selaginella bryopteris water-soluble extract with and without dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) for the efficient long-term storage of human umbilical cord blood- (hUCB-) derived MSCs. The cryopreservation experiment using the formulated freezing solution was further performed with hUCB MSCs in a controlled rate freezer. A significant increase in postthaw cell viability and cell attachment of MSCs was achieved with freezing medium containing Selaginella bryopteris water extract along with 10% Me2SO as compared to the freezing medium containing Me2SO (10% v/v) alone. Furthermore, the decreasing apoptotic events and reactive oxygen species production along with increasing expression of heat shock proteins also confirmed the beneficial effect of Selaginella bryopteris water extract. The beneficial effect of Selaginella bryopteris water extract was validated by its ability to render postpreservation high cell viability. In conclusion, the formulated freezing solution has been demonstrated to be effective for the standardization of cryopreservation protocol for hMSCs

Perceived Stress, Resilience, and Wellbeing in Seasoned Isha Yoga Practitioners Compared to Matched Controls During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Yoga practices, including breathing, meditation, and posture protocols (asanas), have been shown to facilitate physical and mental wellbeing. Methods: Seasoned yoga practitioners were recruited from the Isha Foundation. Recruitment of the comparison group was achieved using snowball sampling and were not yoga practitioners. Participants in the non-yoga group were randomized to a 3-min Isha practice or a comparator group asked to perform 15-min of daily reading. Participants completed a series of web-based surveys (REDCap) at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks. These surveys include validated scales and objective questions on COVID-19 infection and medical history. The validated questionnaires assess for: perceived stress (PSS), mood states [anxiety and depression (PHQ-4), joy (DPES-Joy subscale)], mindfulness attention and awareness (MAAS), resilience (BRS), mental wellbeing (WEMWBS) and recovery from traumatic event (PTGI). Weekly activity diaries were employed as a tool for collecting compliance information from study participants. Perceived stress scale scores were identified as primary outcome for this study. Findings: The median Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) score for the yoga practitioners compared to the active and placebo comparators was significantly lower at all time-points: baseline: 11 [IQR 7–15] vs. 16 [IQR 12–21] in both the active and placebo comparators (p \u3c 0.0001); 6 weeks: 9 [IQR 6–13] vs. 12 [IQR 8–17] in the active comparator and 14 [IQR 9–18] in the placebo comparator (p \u3c 0.0001); and 12 weeks: 9 [IQR 5–13] vs. 11.5 [IQR 8–16] in the active comparators and 13 [IQR 8–17] in the placebo comparator (p \u3c 0.0001). Among the randomized participants that were compliant for the full 12 weeks, the active comparators had significantly lower median PSS scores than the placebo comparators 12 weeks [10 (IQR 5–14) vs. 13 (IQR 8–17), p = 0.017]. Further, yoga practitioners had significantly lower anxiety at all three-time points (p \u3c 0.0001), lower depression at baseline and 6 weeks (p \u3c 0.0003), and significantly higher wellbeing (p \u3c 0.0001) and joy (p \u3c 0.0001) at all three-time points, compared to the active and placebo comparator groups. Interpretation: The lower levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and higher level of wellbeing and joy seen in the yoga practitioners compared to the active and placebo comparators illustrate the impact of regular yoga practices on mental health even during the pandemic

Towards defining heterotic gene pools using SSR markers in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]

Pearl millet is a climate resilient crop and the most widely grown millet worldwide. In a maiden attempt to identify potential heterotic groups for grain yield in pearl millet, a total of 88 polymorphic SSR markers were used to genotype 343 hybrid parental lines of pearl millet. The SSR markers generated a total of 532 alleles with a mean value of 6.05 alleles per locus, mean gene diversity of 0.55, and an average PIC of 0.50. Out of 532 alleles, 443 (83.27%) alleles were contributed by B- lines with a mean of 5.03 alleles per locus. R- lines contributed 476 alleles (89.47%) with a mean of 5.41, while 441 (82.89%) alleles were shared commonly between B- and R- lines. The gene diversity and PIC were high among R- lines (0.55 and 0.50) than B- lines (0.49 and 0.44) revealed that R- lines were more diverse than B- lines. The unweighted neighbor-joining tree based on simple matching dissimilarity matrix obtained from SSR data clearly differentiated B- lines into 10 sub-clusters (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9 and B10), and Rlines into 11 sub-clusters (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10 and R11). The parents, three checks and 99 hybrids generated by crossing between representative lines of each of the B- cluster with that of each of the R- cluster were evaluated in line ? tester design over three environments. Based on pooled mean performance, the cross combinations generated between clusters B1 and R3, B2 and R4, B3 and R5, B4 and undetermined cluster, B5 and 11R, B6 and R3, B8 and R4, B9 and R7 and B10 and R5 had shown higher grain yield per plant compared to their counterparts. Based on per se performance, high sca effects and standard heterosis over superior check, F1s generated from crosses between representatives of groups B3 and B10 with representative of group R5 resulted in best heterotic combinations for grain yield. These represent putative heterotic gene pools in pearl millet.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Angelman Syndrome Protein UBE3A Interacts with Primary Microcephaly Protein ASPM, Localizes to Centrosomes and Regulates Chromosome Segregation

Many proteins associated with the phenotype microcephaly have been localized to the centrosome or linked to it functionally. All the seven autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) proteins localize at the centrosome. Microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II protein PCNT and Seckel syndrome (also characterized by severe microcephaly) protein ATR are also centrosomal proteins. All of the above findings show the importance of centrosomal proteins as the key players in neurogenesis and brain development. However, the exact mechanism as to how the loss-of-function of these proteins leads to microcephaly remains to be elucidated. To gain insight into the function of the most commonly mutated MCPH gene ASPM, we used the yeast two-hybrid technique to screen a human fetal brain cDNA library with an ASPM bait. The analysis identified Angelman syndrome gene product UBE3A as an ASPM interactor. Like ASPM, UBE3A also localizes to the centrosome. The identification of UBE3A as an ASPM interactor is not surprising as more than 80% of Angelman syndrome patients have microcephaly. However, unlike in MCPH, microcephaly is postnatal in Angelman syndrome patients. Our results show that UBE3A is a cell cycle regulated protein and its level peaks in mitosis. The shRNA knockdown of UBE3A in HEK293 cells led to many mitotic abnormalities including chromosome missegregation, abnormal cytokinesis and apoptosis. Thus our study links Angelman syndrome protein UBE3A to ASPM, centrosome and mitosis for the first time. We suggest that a defective chromosome segregation mechanism is responsible for the development of microcephaly in Angelman syndrome