Chemisorption of Nitrous Oxide on Transition Metal Surfaces-Bond Energy Bond Order Model Calculation

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Cardiovascular Risk Assesment in High Risk Individuals: A Prospective study Correlating hs-CRP, HRR with Coronary Angiogram

OBJECTIVE: The aim of present study is to correlate hsCRP levels & heart rate recovery in Stress ECG test with coronary angiogram & to assess the presence and extent of coronary artery disease in high cardiovascular risk individuals. DESIGN: Prospective Observational Study. Setting: Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Govt. Stanley Medical College, Chennai. METHODS: 70 patient with high risk cardiovascular individuals were enrolled from medicine OPD, total cholesterol, BP, hs-CRP were obtained from them, QRISK cardiovascular risk was calculated and risk stratification done, further ECG stress test was done, from them with high DTS score (+4 to -7) coronary angiography was done with JENKINS scoring. RESULTS: Mean hs – CRP in the population was found to be 2.1770 with higher prevalence of hs- CRP levels in age group > 55. Mean angiographic score was 11.76, higher angiographic score was prevalence in age group > 55. Smoking index doesn’t correlate with hs-CRP levels in smokers p value p value 0.081, HRR doesn’t have association with angiographic score p value (0.728), Prevalence of high cholesterol levels mean value 228.77, was high in study population when compared to standard Indian population., Mean HDL levels 31.54 was lower in the study population when compared to the age, gender based Indian population of same age group. CONCLUSION: hs – CRP levels doesn’t correlate with severity of coronary artery lesions as assessed by Jenkins scoring, IMPAIRED HEART RATE RECOVERY (< 12/ min fall in H.R after exercise) was more prevalent in patients having low DUKE TREAD MILL SCORE, however there is no significant association between HEART RATE RECOVERY and severity of angiographic lesions

Molluscicidal effect of biogenic silica and botanical pesticides for the control of Achatina fulica (giant African land snail) and Laevicaulis alte (garden slug)

The molluscicidal effect of silica synthesized from rice husk ash (RHA) on snails (Achatina fulica Bowdich) and slugs (Laevicaulis alte Férussac) was assessed under laboratory conditions. The silica particles derived from RHA were also coated with leaf extracts (botanical pesticides): Azadirachta indica A. Juss, Pongamia pinnata (L.), Nicotiana tabacum (L.), and Calotropis procera (L.). The silica coated with plant extracts and the uncoated silica were applied to the molluscs in dust or slurry form. Inactivation, mortality, and body fluid loss in A. fulica and L. alte were observed over 24 h and recorded. The body fluid losses were 25%–42% for snails and 37%–62% for slugs that had been dusted with silica. During the experiment it was also noted that as the concentration of silica increased (0.15, 0.20, and 0.25 g), the time required for inactivation and mortality was reduced. The dust application was more effective than the slurry. The lower concentration of silica in the slurry (0.05 and 0.10 g) did not have any significant effect on A. fulica or L. alte. For A. fulica the biopesticide-coated silica particles were more effective when coated with neem, followed by tobacco and karanj; for L. alte, the particles were most effective when coated with tobacco, followed by neem and karanj. The plant extract (liquid as well as dry powder) without silica showed no molluscicidal effect on A. fulica and L. alte, except for some temporary inactivation, particularly with tobacco extract. The application of common salt, a practice often used by farmers, was also tested. It was observed that the effects of common salt on A. fulica and L. alte were less significant than those of silica coated with botanical pesticides.

Impact of different levels of iron on mitigation of iron chlorosis in varagu CO 3 (Paspalum scrobiculatum. L)

Iron (Fe) deficiency is a major nutritional disorder in crops growing in calcareous soils. Varagu crop are more susceptible to (Fe) deficiency in the early stage of growth and the deficiency is exhibited as chlorosis developing interveinally in the new leaves.  The objective of the present study was to see the impact of different levels iron on mitigation of chlorosis in varagu, Paspalum scrobiculatum under calcareous soil and to investigate the influence of soil and foliar application of iron on growth, physiological and improvement of yield potential of varagu under calcareous soil condition. The varagu variety CO3 taken for this study The treatments comprised T1, NPK (44:22:0 kg ha-1) + 12.5 t  FYM/ha,T2, NPK (44:22:30 kg ha-1) +12.5 t FYM/ha, T3, T1 + Soil application of FeSO4   (25 kg ha-1), T4, T2 + Soil application of FeSO4 (25 kg ha-1), T5, T1 + Soil application of FeSO4 (50 kg ha-1), T6, T2 + Soil application of FeSO4 (50 kg ha-1), T7, T3 + Foliar spray of 0.5% FeSO4, T8, T4 + Foliar spray of 0.5% FeSO4, T9,T5 + Foliar spray of 0.5% FeSO4, T10,  T6 + Foliar spray of 0.5% FeSO4. During experimentation, morphological characteristics, growth attributes, physiological and biochemical components and biomass traits determined the mitigation of iron chlorosis. The iron deficiency in varagu was effectively controlled by T10, soil treatment 50 kg ha-1 FeSO4 and foliar spray of 0.5% FeSO4 applied on the 30th and 50th days after sowing through maintaining highest growth parameter values, maximum catalase and peroxidase activity and maintaining more chlorophyll content

Radicle emergence test as a quick vigour test to predict field emergence performance in rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed lots

An experiment was made to standardize the radicle emergence test to predict the field emergence performance in ten different seed lots [L1 to L4: high vigour lots (&gt; 90 % germination), L5 to L7: medium vigour lots (80-90 % germination) and L8 to L10: low vigour lots (&lt; 80 % germination)] of rice cv. CO 51. The results showed that the significant differences are observed in physiological and biochemical parameters in different seed lots. The seed vigour was classified into three groups viz., high, medium and low vigour based on the relationship between mean germination time and field emergence. When the Mean Germination Time (MGT) was &lt; 34 hours, the field emergence was &gt; 85 per cent, which was considered as high vigour; when the MGT was 34-35 hours, the field emergence was 80-85 per cent, that was considered as medium vigour; when the MGT was &gt; 35 hours, the field emergence was &lt; 80 per cent, that was considered as low vigour. The radicle emergence test (2mm radicle length) was highly negatively correlated with mean germination time (-0.930**) followed by mean just germination time (-0.852**) and electrical conductivity of seed leachate (-0.827**) and it was positively correlated with field emergence (0.894**) followed by germination (0.878**) and dehydrogenase activity (0.864**). The R2 values between seed vigour parameters and radicle emergence test were significantly higher in 2mm length of radicle emergence when compared with 1mm length of radicle emergence. Finally, the study concluded that 36 hour MGT with the attainment of 2mm radicle emergence percentage could be used as a quick method to assess rice seed lots' quality by the seed analysts and seed industry

Studies on Batoids Diversity off Rameswaram Island, Tamil Nadu

Gulf of Mannar (GoM) and Palk Bay (PB) are two biodiversity rich ecosystems in the east coast of India as it occupies vast coral reefs, seagrass meadows, sandy and muddy bottoms. Rameswaram Island covers both GoM and PB in its south and north vicinities respectively. Month and season wise species diversity of batoids off the Rameswaram Island analysed. Based on the cyclic phenomena of meteorological events, three seasons are broadly indicated as month wise and they are (1) Pre –Monsoon (PRM) (June to September) (2) Monsoon (M) (October to January) (3) Post-Monsoon (POM) (February-May). The diversity indices calculated using the PRIMER package. In the Rameswaram Island waters, the number of batoid species recorded in various seasons was in the range of 11–40. While the maximum number of species was found in PRM (35), the minimum was found in POM (11). Totally, 40 species of batoids were recorded in the area. These included 21 species belonging to family Dasyatidae, 5 to family Rhinobatidae, 6 to family Mobulidae, 2 each to Rhinopteridae, and Aetobatidae 1 species to families Glaucostegidae, Rhinidae, Gymnuridae and Myliobatidae. Neotrygon indica, was the most dominant species followed by Aetobatus ocellatus., R. javanica, Gymnura poecilura, Brevitrygon imbricata, Himantura uarnak, H. tutul, H. leopard, Maculabatis gerrardi, Taeniurops meyeni, Pateobatis bleekeri and Pastinachus ater were observed in all seasons. The Shannon diversity was more in July (4.60) followed by August (4.45) and June (4.40). The Margalef species richness showed remarkable differences between July (6.12) and April (1.11). The evenness was comparatively more in February (0.97) than July (0.95). Highest Shannon diversity (4.75) and species richness (6.82) was observed in PRM. Species evenness was more in POM (0.94) and least during PRM (0.92). The variation in taxonomic distinctness index was more between PRM and POM (0.962 - 0.912). All three diversity indices in M were intermediate between PRM and POM. PRM and M formed a group with highest similarity percentage of 64.31 to which POM got linked at 32.86

Transthyretin Protects against A-Beta Peptide Toxicity by Proteolytic Cleavage of the Peptide: A Mechanism Sensitive to the Kunitz Protease Inhibitor

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the deposition of amyloid β-peptide (A-Beta) in the brain. Transthyretin (TTR) is a tetrameric protein of about 55 kDa mainly produced in the liver and choroid plexus of the brain. The known physiological functions of TTR are the transport of thyroid hormone T4 and retinol, through binding to the retinol binding protein. TTR has also been established as a cryptic protease able to cleave ApoA-I in vitro. It has been described that TTR is involved in preventing A-Beta fibrilization, both by inhibiting and disrupting A-Beta fibrils, with consequent abrogation of toxicity. We further characterized the nature of the TTR/A-Beta interaction and found that TTR, both recombinant or isolated from human sera, was able to proteolytically process A-Beta, cleaving the peptide after aminoacid residues 1, 2, 3, 10, 13, 14,16, 19 and 27, as determined by mass spectrometry, and reversed phase chromatography followed by N-terminal sequencing. A-Beta peptides (1–14) and (15–42) showed lower amyloidogenic potential than the full length counterpart, as assessed by thioflavin binding assay and ultrastructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy. A-Beta cleavage by TTR was inhibited in the presence of an αAPP peptide containing the Kunitz Protease Inhibitor (KPI) domain but not in the presence of the secreted αAPP derived from the APP isoform 695 without the KPI domain. TTR was also able to degrade aggregated forms of A-Beta peptide. Our results confirmed TTR as a protective molecule in AD, and prompted A-Beta proteolysis by TTR as a protective mechanism in this disease. TTR may prove to be a useful therapeutic agent for preventing or retarding the cerebral amyloid plaque formation implicated in AD pathology

Receptor-Associated Protein (RAP) Plays a Central Role in Modulating Aβ Deposition in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice

BACKGROUND: Receptor associated protein (RAP) functions in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to assist in the maturation of several membrane receptor proteins, including low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP) and lipoprotein receptor 11 (SorLA/LR11). Previous studies in cell and mouse model systems have demonstrated that these proteins play roles in the metabolism of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), including processes involved in the generation, catabolism and deposition of beta-amyloid (Abeta) peptides. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Mice transgenic for mutant APPswe and mutant presenilin 1 (PS1dE9) were mated to mice with homozygous deletion of RAP. Unexpectedly, mice that were homozygous null for RAP and transgenic for APPswe/PS1dE9 showed high post-natal mortality, necessitating a shift in focus to examine the levels of amyloid deposition in APPswe/PS1dE9 that were hemizygous null for RAP. Immunoblot analysis confirmed 50% reductions in the levels of RAP with modest reductions in the levels of proteins dependent upon RAP for maturation [LRP trend towards a 20% reduction ; SorLA/LR11 statistically significant 15% reduction (p<0.05)]. Changes in the levels of these proteins in the brains of [APPswe/PS1dE9](+/-)/RAP(+/-) mice correlated with 30-40% increases in amyloid deposition by 9 months of age. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Partial reductions in the ER chaperone RAP enhance amyloid deposition in the APPswe/PS1dE9 model of Alzheimer amyloidosis. Partial reductions in RAP also affect the maturation of LRP and SorLA/LR11, which are each involved in several different aspects of APP processing and Abeta catabolism. Together, these findings suggest a central role for RAP in Alzheimer amyloidogenesis

Amyloid Precursor Protein Is Trafficked and Secreted via Synaptic Vesicles

A large body of evidence has implicated amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its proteolytic derivatives as key players in the physiological context of neuronal synaptogenesis and synapse maintenance, as well as in the pathology of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Although APP processing and release are known to occur in response to neuronal stimulation, the exact mechanism by which APP reaches the neuronal surface is unclear. We now demonstrate that a small but relevant number of synaptic vesicles contain APP, which can be released during neuronal activity, and most likely represent the major exocytic pathway of APP. This novel finding leads us to propose a revised model of presynaptic APP trafficking that reconciles existing knowledge on APP with our present understanding of vesicular release and recycling