Protein profiling by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) represented a basic protein fingerprinting in tea

176-181We report about the use of protein profiling by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) to identify a particular tea clone or cultivar from our recently considered three tea cultivars (TV1, TV6 and HK22/14). Comparison of 2-DE gel pictures for each cultivar provided a unique banding patterns of protein spots on 2-DE gel which remain unchanged after challenging with biotic (Helopeltis and red spider infested) and abiotic (drought) stresses. Therefore, it can be concluded that 2-DE may be used as a protein marker for identifying a desirable tea cultivar to be used in tea breeding programme

Studies on Production, Optimization and Purification of Uricase from Gliocladium viride

Five different fungal strains belonging to Gliocladium and Gliomastix species were initially screened for their uricase producing capability, among which Gliocladium viride MTCC 3835 was identified to produce highly active uricase. Statistical designs were applied to optimize uricase production. Using Plackett–Burman design, peptone, yeast extract and CuSO4 were found to have significant effect on enzyme activity. Box-Behnken design was used to find the optimal concentrations of significant variables, which were as follows, Peptone-12.71g/L, Yeast Extract-10.57g/L,  CuSO4-0.0762g/L. Maximum activity of 84.92 U/ml was observed  experimentally, which is 1.344 times higher than the activity got in basal medium. Crude uricase was further purified using three-phase partitioning (TPP), and the significant factors like inorganic phase saturation, ratio between organic phase and crude enzyme, operating temperature were optimized. Crude enzyme saturated with 50%(w/v) with ammonium sulphate and at crude enzyme to t-butanol ratio of 1:1(v/v) at 30°C  resulted in 80.109% yield of uricase with 1.44 fold purification

Family Planning Use among Urban Poor Women from Six Cities of Uttar Pradesh, India

Family planning has widespread positive impacts for population health and well-being; contraceptive use not only decreases unintended pregnancies and reduces infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, but it is critical to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals. This study uses baseline, representative data from six cities in Uttar Pradesh, India to examine family planning use among the urban poor. Data were collected from about 3,000 currently married women in each city (Allahabad, Agra, Varanasi, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, and Moradabad) for a total sample size of 17,643 women. Participating women were asked about their fertility desires, family planning use, and reproductive health. The survey over-sampled slum residents; this permits in-depth analyses of the urban poor and their family planning use behaviors. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are used to examine the role of wealth and education on family planning use and unmet need for family planning. Across all of the cities, about 50% of women report modern method use. Women in slum areas generally report less family planning use and among those women who use, slum women are more likely to be sterilized than to use other methods, including condoms and hormonal methods. Across all cities, there is a higher unmet need for family planning to limit childbearing than for spacing births. Poorer women are more likely to have an unmet need than richer women in both the slum and non-slum samples; this effect is attenuated when education is included in the analysis. Programs seeking to target the urban poor in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere in India may be better served to identify the less educated women and target these women with appropriate family planning messages and methods that meet their current and future fertility desire needs