MOLECULAR MODELLING AND DOCKING STUDIES OF HUMAN ACROSIN BINDING PROTEIN (ACRBP/OY-TES-1)

Objective: We have made an attempt to identify inhibitors that are bound with Acrosin binding protein (ACRBP/OY-TES-1) through In silico molecular docking studies.Methods: Modeling of ACRBP/OY-TES-1 was performed using Iterative Threading Assembly Refinement (I-TASSER) software. Docking calculations were carried out using Glide. Glide Score (GS core) was used to rank the ligands on the basis of their relative binding affinities.Results: Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs were docked with ACRBP/OY-TES-1 to identify potent inhibitors. Leuprolide a decapeptide interacts with the protein at residues Tyr116, Gly421, Leu433, Asp480 and Gln483 with Glide score-14.188. Other compounds that showed high affinity to the protein are triptorelin, nafatarelin, goserelin and sincalide.Conclusion: The investigation concluded that these drugs could be used as potential inhibitors against ACRBP/OY-TES-1 in cancer treatment.Â

A study on the defluoridation in water by using natural soil

Removal of excess fluoride (F−) from the water has been attempted by several authors by using different materials both natural and artificial. The main aim of this paper was to attempt the fluoride removal by using the locally available red soil adopting column method. The red soil was mixed in different proportion with sand in order to increase the porosity and permeability property of the medium. It was optimized for 4:1 ratio of red soil to sand and it was used for the following experiment. The experiment was conducted in 11 batches for a period of about 9,213 min. Fresh standard solution of F was used in each batch, prepared from Orion 1,000 ppm solution. The samples were collected and analyzed for pH, EC (Electrical Conductivity) and HCO3. Rate of flow of water and efficiency of adsorption were calculated and compared with the fluoride removal capacities of the medium. The medium used for the fluoride removal was subjected to FTIR analysis before and after the experiment. The variation of IR spectrum before and after treatment signifies the changes in the OH bonding between Al and Fe ions present in the soil. The variation in pH decreased during the course of defluoridation. Higher F removal was noted when flow rate was lesser. An attempt on the regeneration of the fluoride adsorbed soil was also made and found to be effective

Evaluating the potential of thermal read-out techniques combined with molecularly imprinted polymers for the sensing of low-weight organic molecules

In recent years, there has been a tremendous increase in the papers published on synthetic recognition elements. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), also referred to as “man-made mimics” of antibodies, are able to rebind their template molecules with high affinity. Advantages compared with those of natural receptors include their excellent thermal and chemical stability, low cost, and ease of the production process. However, their use in commercial biosensors is limited owing to the difficulty to incorporate MIPs into suitable sensing platforms and traditional detection techniques, such as chromatography, that require bulky and sophisticated equipment. In this review, we evaluate the potential to use MIPs combined with thermal read-out for the detection of low-weight organic molecules. We discuss thermal methods to study MIP-template complexation and to determine neurotransmitters concentrations. In particular, we highlight the heat-transfer method, a recent technique that is straightforward and low cost and requires minimal instrumentation. Until now, sample preparation involves a 2-step process, making it time-consuming, and measuring biological samples is difficult owing to the noise in the signal. Different sample preparation methods are discussed, and it will be demonstrated how this affects the thermal response. An outlook is given in novel methods that can simplify and speed up sample preparation. Finally, we show a novel thermal technique, which is based on the analysis of transport of thermal waves rather than evaluating the fixed heat-transfer resistance. Through applying the concept of thermal waves, signal-noise ratio is significantly increased, which results in lower detection limits and has potential for the study of biological samples

Textural characteristics of the surface sediments of a Tropical mangrove ecosystem Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, India

415-422Mangroves in gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, India has been studied for grain size spectrum and textural parameters namely phi mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis. Grain size spectrum shows a marked variation in the upstream riverine input stretch. Variation of energy conditions is controlled by the fluvial profile in the channel. Textural pattern shows complicated profile as a result of the fluctuation in the physico-chemical conditions due to fluvial-marine interaction. Abundance of very fine sand to fine sand shows the prevalence of comparatively low energy condition in the mangrove creek zones. Linear Discriminate Function Analysis (LDF) of the samples indicates shallow marine environment origin for all samples collected from this mangrove ecosystem. Riverine sediments show a wide range of textural facies including muddy sand. It has also been observed that a progressive enrichment of silty-sand in the downstream region. CM diagram (C= one percentile in microns, M=Median in microns) of Gulf of Kachchh sediments suggests that deposition takes place by (1) rolling (2) rolling and suspension and (3) graded suspension. Rolling and suspension population is dominant in the river/creeks deposits, which is also supported by uniform grain size distribution of sediment load augmented by turbidity current

Effects of Soil-Structure Interaction on Torsionally Coupled Base Isolated Machine Foundation under Earthquake Load

In this paper, the influence of soil-structure interaction (SSI) on a torsionally coupled turbo-generator (TG) machine foundation is studied under earthquake ground motions. The beneficial effects of base isolators in the TG foundation under earthquake ground motions are also studied duly, considering the effects of SSI. A typical TG foundation is analyzed using a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model. Two superstructure eccentricity ratios are considered to represent the torsional coupling. Soft soil properties are considered to study the effects of SSI. This research concludes that the effects of torsional coupling alter the natural frequencies, if ignored, could lead to unsafe design. The deck accelerations and displacements are increased with an increase in superstructure eccentricity. On the other hand, the deck accelerations and displacements are greatly reduced with the help of base isolators, thus confirming the beneficial use of base isolators in machine foundations to protect the sensitive equipment from the strong earthquake ground motions. However, the effects of SSI reduce the natural frequencies of the TG foundation resting on soft soil conditions and activate the higher mode participation, resulting in amplifying the response

Management of Chromium Plating Rinsewater Using Electrochemical Ion Exchange

The chrome plating industry effluent mainly contains chromium(VI) in dragout and rinsewater whose constituents reflect the plating bath characteristics. Normally dragout/dead tank wash water contains about 1% of the plating bath concentration. As chromium(VI) is soluble in all pH ranges, an efficient treatment is required for recovery of chromium for the reuse of treated water. The present study endeavors to recover the chromium by an electrochemical ion exchange (EIX) method. This combines ion exchange (IX) and electrodialysis (ED) for the removal and concentration of chromate ions from the effluent and recycles the treated water for conservation of water. The maximum chromium removal achieved is 98.82% in the batch recirculation mode of operation of EIX at voltage 12.5 V