Are they free to make choices? Financial matters and autonomy among the older adults in India

Well-being is desired and drives all irrespective of age. The salience of empowerment as a means to well-being endures during the older ages also. Therefore, the present study addresses this issue in the context of ageing in India. The state of autonomy in financial matters namely, the management of owned assets and the management of owned property, is a manifestation of power. For this purpose, data sets pertaining to the 42 nd and the 52 nd rounds of the National Sample Survey have been utilized. Inferences pertaining to the logit regression models indicate that gender, marital status, employment, financial dependence and health are associated with the autonomy of the older adults. Temporal changes in these associations are also visible. In fact, inferences pertaining to the log-linear models indicate interactions among gender, marital status and autonomy. The study identifies the need of investigation into the pathways of dis-empowerment

The Effect of Membrane Lipid Composition on the Formation of Lipid Ultrananodomains

AbstractSome lipid mixtures form membranes containing submicroscopic (nanodomain) ordered lipid domains (rafts). Some of these nanodomains are so small (radius <5 nm) that they cannot be readily detected with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-labeled lipid pairs with large Ro. We define such domains as ultrananodomains. We studied the effect of lipid structure/composition on the formation of ultrananodomains in lipid vesicles using a dual-FRET-pair approach in which only one FRET pair had Ro values that were sufficiently small to detect the ultrananodomains. Using this approach, we measured the temperature dependence of domain and ultrananodomain formation for vesicles composed of various mixtures containing a high-Tm lipid (brain sphingomyelin (SM)) or dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC)), low-Tm lipid (dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) or 1-palmitoyl 2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC)), and a lower (28 mol %) or higher (38 mol %) cholesterol concentration. For every lipid combination tested, the thermal stabilities of the ordered domains were similar, in agreement with our prior studies. However, the range of temperatures over which ultrananodomains formed was highly lipid-type dependent. Overall, vesicles that were closest to mammalian plasma membrane in lipid composition (i.e., with brain SM, POPC, and/or higher cholesterol) formed ultrananodomains in preference to larger domains over the widest temperature range. Relative to DPPC, the favorable effect of SM on ultrananodomain formation versus larger domains was especially large. In addition, the favorable effect of a high cholesterol concentration, and of POPC versus DOPC, on the formation of ultrananodomains versus larger domains was greater in vesicles containing SM than in those containing DPPC. We speculate that it is likely that natural mammalian lipids are tuned to maximize the tendency to form ultrananodomains relative to larger domains. The observation that domain size is more sensitive than domain formation to membrane composition has implications for how membrane domain properties may be regulated in vivo

Effect of biomolecules from human renal matrix of calcium oxalate monohydrate (CaOx) stones on in vitro calcium phosphate crystallization

PURPOSE: Investigate the activity of high and low molecular weight biomolecules present in the matrix of human calcium oxalate (CaOx) stones not only on the initial mineral phase formation of calcium and phosphate (CaP) but also on its growth and demineralization of the preformed mineral phase. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surgically removed renal stones were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopy and only CaOx stones were extracted with 0.05M EGTA, 1 mM PMSF and 1% ß-mercaptoethanol. Renal CaOx stone extract was separated into > 10 kDa and 10 kDa and 10 kDa fraction lane. CONCLUSION: Both high and low molecular weight biomolecules extracted from human renal matrix of calcium oxalate (CaOx) stones have a significant influence on calcium and phosphate (CaP) crystallization

Biodiversity and Community structure of spiders in Saran , part of Indo-Gangetic Plain , India

Present study was conducted to reveals the community structure and diversity of spider species in different habitat types (gardens, crop fields and houses) of Saran; a part of Indo – Gangetic Plain, India. This area has very rich diversity of flora and fauna due to its climatic conditions, high soil fertility and plenty of water availability. The spiders were sampled using two semi-quantitative methods and pitfall traps. A total of 1400 individual adult spiders belonging to 50 species, 29 genera and 15 families were recorded during 1st December 2013 to 28th February 2014. Spider species of houses were distinctive from other habitats it showed low spider species richness. The dominant spider families were also differs with habitat types. Araneidae, Pholcidae and Salticidae were the dominant spider families in gardens, houses and crop fields respectively. Comparison of beta diversity showed higher dissimilarity in spider communities of gardens and houses and higher similarity between spider communities of crop fields and gardens. We find that spiders are likely to be more abundant and species rich in gardens than in other habitat types. Habitat structural component had great impact on spider species richness and abundance in studied habitats

Proving Lipid Rafts Exist: Membrane Domains in the Prokaryote <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> Have the Same Properties as Eukaryotic Lipid Rafts

<div><p>Lipid rafts in eukaryotic cells are sphingolipid and cholesterol-rich, ordered membrane regions that have been postulated to play roles in many membrane functions, including infection. We previously demonstrated the existence of cholesterol-lipid-rich domains in membranes of the prokaryote, <i>B. burgdorferi</i>, the causative agent of Lyme disease [LaRocca <i>et al.</i> (2010) Cell Host & Microbe 8, 331–342]. Here, we show that these prokaryote membrane domains have the hallmarks of eukaryotic lipid rafts, despite lacking sphingolipids. Substitution experiments replacing cholesterol lipids with a set of sterols, ranging from strongly raft-promoting to raft-inhibiting when mixed with eukaryotic sphingolipids, showed that sterols that can support ordered domain formation are both <i>necessary</i> and <i>sufficient</i> for formation of <i>B. burgdorferi</i> membrane domains that can be detected by transmission electron microscopy or in <i>living</i> organisms by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Raft-supporting sterols were also necessary and sufficient for formation of high amounts of detergent resistant membranes from <i>B. burgdorferi</i>. Furthermore, having saturated acyl chains was required for a biotinylated lipid to associate with the cholesterol-lipid-rich domains in <i>B. burgdorferi</i>, another characteristic identical to that of eukaryotic lipid rafts. Sterols supporting ordered domain formation were also necessary and sufficient to maintain <i>B. burgdorferi</i> membrane integrity, and thus critical to the life of the organism. These findings provide compelling evidence for the existence of lipid rafts and show that the same principles of lipid raft formation apply to prokaryotes and eukaryotes despite marked differences in their lipid compositions.</p></div