Evidence for latency of Japanese encephalitis virus in T lymphocytes

Activation of latent Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in the spleen has been studied by co-cultivation with allogeneic or syngeneic cells. Activated virus was isolated by cocultivation from T lymphocytes of spleen, as shown by indirect immunofluorescence or by inoculation into mice. The B lymphocytes and macrophages of latently infected mice did not reactivate the virus. A higher proportion of Lyt 1 cells than Lyt 2 cells were harbouring JEV as shown by indirect immunofluorescence. The spleen cells from latently infected mice elicited the lymphoproliferative response but this was much lower than that observed in the controls. These findings suggest the establishment of latent JEV infection in T lymphocytes

Benefits of federal community pastures on the prairies

Non-Peer ReviewedIn the wake of widespread soil erosion, during the 1930s, the federal governments passed the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) act, establishing the agency, and through it a system of community pastures in the three prairie provinces. At present, PFRA operates 87 such pastures. The major motivation for this program was to reduce soil erosion through some careful land management practices, thereby enabling them to be a source of summer pasture for cattle grazing. This was seen as fostering greater economic security, stability and diversification in the region. Over time, many other uses of community pastures have emerged. Although grazing and breeding function has remained prominent, many other uses have become important enough so as not be totally ignored. Some of the notable uses include: wildlife and waterfowl habitats, recreational activity, preservation of biodiversity, preservation of fragile ecosystems, conservation of heritage sites, research activity, among others. In order to determine these uses, a survey of PFRA community pastures was undertaken during the summer of 2000. The results of this survey indicate that although grazing and breeding activities are still the major economic activities on these community pastures, the Canadian and the Prairie society benefits from these pastures in a significant manner. This study suggests that the PFRA community pastures are more than a place for farmers to leave their cattle for the summer period; they provide several benefits to local communities, and other members of the society through ecosystem functions, and other use and non-use related activities

Geometrical dynamics of Born-Infeld objects

We present a geometrical inspired study of the dynamics of $Dp$-branes. We focus on the usual nonpolynomial Dirac-Born-Infeld action for the worldvolume swept out by the brane in its evolution in general background spacetimes. We emphasize the form of the resulting equations of motion which are quite simple and resemble Newton's second law, complemented with a conservation law for a worldvolume bicurrent. We take a closer look at the classical Hamiltonian analysis which is supported by the ADM framework of general relativity. The constraints and their algebra are identified as well as the geometrical role they play in phase space. In order to illustrate our results, we review the dynamics of a $D1$-brane immersed in a $AdS_3 \times S^3$ background spacetime. We exhibit the mechanical properties of Born-Infeld objects paving the way to a consistent quantum formulation.Comment: LaTex, 20 pages, no figure

Genetic Evaluation and AMMI Analysis for Salinity Tolerance in Diverse Wheat Germplasm

Soil salinity is one of the major environmental constraints in increasing agricultural crop production, especially wheat production in India. Screening of diverse germplasm in representative growing conditions is prerequisite for exploring traits with stable expression imparting salinity tolerance. A study was undertaken during 2011–2012 for characterizing wheat germplasm in three environments representing growing conditions of crop in Northern parts of India, estimating inter-relationship among traits and evaluating stability of trait conferring salinity tolerance. Significant value of mean square for observed trait across the environments signified presence of large variability in genotypes. Significant yield reduction was recorded in almost all genotypes in saline environment compared to non-saline condition. Ratio of potassium and sodium ion in leaf tissue (KNA); a key salt tolerance traits was found to be significantly correlated with biomass, SPAD value and plant height. Due to the presence of significant genotype × environment interaction (G × E) for KNA, additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model was utilized to study stability of KNA among genotypes and environments. IPCA1 and IPCA2 were found to be significant and explained more than 99 per cent of variation due to G × E. KRICHAUFF was having maximum trait value with specific adaptation while DUCULA 4 and KRL 19 were having general adaptability. AMMI2 biplot revealed high stability of Kharchia 65 and KRL 99 across environments. E1 (timely sown, non-saline soil) recorded maximum site mean while E2 (timely sown, sodic soil) was having minimum interaction with genotypes (AMMI1 = 1.383). Thus, our studies suggest that AMMI model is also useful for estimating adaptability of traits other than yield utilized for breeding salt tolerant wheat varieties

Pluripotent and Multipotent Stem Cells Display Distinct Hypoxic miRNA Expression Profiles

MicroRNAs are reported to have a crucial role in the regulation of self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells. Hypoxia has been identified as a key biophysical element of the stem cell culture milieu however, the link between hypoxia and miRNA expression in stem cells remains poorly understood. We therefore explored miRNA expression in hypoxic human embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells (hESCs and hMSCs). A total of 50 and 76 miRNAs were differentially regulated by hypoxia (2% O2) in hESCs and hMSCs, respectively, with a negligible overlap of only three miRNAs. We found coordinate regulation of precursor and mature miRNAs under hypoxia suggesting their regulation mainly at transcriptional level. Hypoxia response elements were located upstream of 97% of upregulated hypoxia regulated miRNAs (HRMs) suggesting hypoxia-inducible-factor (HIF) driven transcription. HIF binding to the candidate cis-elements of specific miRNAs under hypoxia was confirmed by Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with qPCR. Role analysis of a subset of upregulated HRMs identified linkage to reported inhibition of differentiation while a downregulated subset of HRMs had a putative role in the promotion of differentiation. MiRNA-target prediction correlation with published hypoxic hESC and hMSC gene expression profiles revealed HRM target genes enriched in the cytokine:cytokine receptor, HIF signalling and pathways in cancer. Overall, our study reveals, novel and distinct hypoxia-driven miRNA signatures in hESCs and hMSCs with the potential for application in optimised culture and differentiation models for both therapeutic application and improved understanding of stem cell biology

Prescription pattern of antimicrobial agents by dental practitioners: a questionnaire based study

Background: The aim of this study was to know the pattern & rationality of antimicrobial prescription by dental practitioners.Methods: It was questionnaire based cross sectional study. A total of 175 questionnaires were distributed to dental practitioners working in a tertiary care Dental College & Hospital and private practitioners in Jaipur (Rajasthan). The questionnaire contained questions about years of practice, diagnosis for which antimicrobial were prescribed, dosage and duration of antimicrobial drugs for prophylaxis, acute and chronic conditions, patient compliance & adverse effects. Data was expressed as counts and percentages.Results: Out of 175 questionnaires distributed, 150 were included in the study. 78% dentists had practices less than 5 years duration. Most common indications for which antimicrobials were prescribed were abscess, cellulitis, irreversible pulpitis, and acute gingivitis. Most common antimicrobials used for prophylaxis were Amoxycillin and Metronidazole. For the treatment of acute and chronic conditions, Amoxycillin, Metronidazole, Ofloxacin and Ornidazole alone or in combination were used. Only 20% dentist advised culture & sensitivity tests. 74% patients completed the recommended course of antimicrobials. 56% patients reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs) with the most common being nausea and vomiting, but only 13% dentists reported them to proper authorities.Conclusions: In this study, Amoxycillin and Metronidazole were the most common drugs used for the management of oral diseases, but were prescribed without culture & sensitivity in most cases. 56% patients reported ADRs, but only 13% dentists reported them to proper authorities. Appropriate measures need to be taken to promote rational prescribing and ADR reporting

Essential role of MED1 in the transcriptional regulation of ER-dependent oncogenic miRNAs in breast cancer

Mediator complex has been extensively shown to regulate the levels of several protein-coding genes; however, its role in the regulation of miRNAs in humans remains unstudied so far. Here we show that MED1, a Mediator subunit in the Middle module of Mediator complex, is overexpressed in breast cancer and is a negative prognostic factor. The levels of several miRNAs (miR-100-5p, -191-5p, -193b-3p, -205-5p, -326, -422a and -425-5p) were found to be regulated by MED1. MED1 induces miR-191/425 cluster in an estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-\u3b1) dependent manner. Occupancy of MED1 on estrogen response elements (EREs) upstream of miR-191/425 cluster is estrogen and ER-\u3b1-dependent and ER-\u3b1-induced expression of these miRNAs is MED1-dependent. MED1 mediates induction of cell proliferation and migration and the genes associated with it (JUN, FOS, EGFR, VEGF, MMP1, and ERBB4) in breast cancer, which is abrogated when used together with miR-191-inhibition. Additionally, we show that MED1 also regulates the levels of direct miR-191 target genes such as SATB1, CDK6 and BDNF. Overall, the results show that MED1/ER-\u3b1/miR-191 axis promotes breast cancer cell proliferation and migration and may serve as a novel target for therapy

ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES IN A CASE OF MULTIPLE MYELOMA USING SPECTRAL KARYOTYPING

Objective: It was proposed to determine the chromosomal abnormalities in a 49-year-old male patient with multiple myeloma (MM) employing both conventional and advanced molecular cytogenetic techniques.Methods: GTG-banding and spectral karyotyping (SKY) on fixed metaphases obtained from LPS-stimulated bone marrow cells and interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (iFISH) on unsorted marrow cells were carried out to identify genetic markers of prognostic significance.Results: The abnormal chromosomes observed through conventional cytogenetics could be resolved with SKY technique. The translocation t(4;14) (p16;q32) indicating FGFR3/IGH fusion and deletion of 13q14.3 was noticed using iFISH. The genetic abnormalities confirmed a poor prognostic outcome in the patient who died within 6 months of diagnosis.Conclusion: This report emphasizes the need for multicolor FISH techniques besides iFISH to resolve complex abnormalities and to identify cryptic aberrations of importance in risk stratification of MM patients