A pharmacological study on the effect of calendula officinalis extract on wound healing in animals

Background: Calendula officinalis is one of those plants which have medicinal importance due to its flowers (HECO) has pharmacological activity the important pharmacological parameters have been less investigated properly and can be scientifically proved by reverse pharmacology. It was found of interest to evaluate these properties of extract of flowers of Calendula officinalis.Methods: Study was conducted in Albino Wistar rats. For evaluating wound healing activity Excision wound model and Incision wound mode were used containing 4 groups each. The wound contraction was studied by tracing the raw wound area on graph paper. Scar area and time for complete epithelisation were measured. The percentage of wound contraction was recorded. The differences between experimental groups were compared by ANOVA followed by Students “t” unpaired test.Results: In the excision wound healing model, 5% and 10% flowers showed a highly significant reduction in wound area as compared with control. In incision wound model, rats treated with 5% and 10% ointment of Calendula officinalis flowers extract showed highly significant increase in tensile strength as compared to control.Conclusions: It was found that the Calendula extract enhanced the wound healing in both the models as seen by increased synthesis of connective tissue especially collagen. There was a significant increase in the granuloma tissue. In both the models wound contraction and increased tensile strength was found to be statistically significant

Harnessing of Wave Power from Horizontal Flow Dynamics of Shallow Waves

Harnessing Ocean Wave power is a potential source of renewable form of energy. Our project was aimed at finding the constraints and proposing a suitable solution to utilize this form of energy. Ocean Wave Power is the most predictable, periodic and concentrated source among all renewable sources, but the constraints imposed on its harnessing are a result of its Ocean environment. Ocean wave dissipates energy in several strata of circular oscillation. But with depth induced water pressure these circular oscillation are squished into ellipse that approximates to back & forth motion. Statistically the horizontal oscillation shares the 68% of energy spectrum of wave energy. But due to irregular flow and variable pressure conventional hydropower harnessing techniques become improbable. In our project we have proposed a simple solution that takes the direct advantage of utilizing this energetic horizontal momentum of ocean waves, without in between conversion. Our project works in parallel and in tandem with another group working on this project but deals with a different aspect of the problem. Our project has worked on finding the depth induced variation of distribution of ocean energy and maximum optimum depth for harnessing. The suitable components required for conversion from mechanical to electrical energy were analyzed. The slow rpm speed output needed attention for its conversion and Axial/Transverse Flux Permanent seemed to be the solution for our scenario

Mechanism of action of hydrogen peroxide in wheat thermotolerance - interaction between antioxidant isoenzymes, proline and cell membrane

Terminal heat stress causes an array of physiological, biochemical and morphological changes in plants, which affect plant growth and development. It has very severe effect on the pollen viability and seed setting in wheat. In the present investigation, an altered expression of H2O2 (0.9 μg/g in C-306 and 0.75 μg/g in HD2329) was observed with the highest accumulation at seed hardening stage and against heat shock (HS) of 42°C for 2 h. With the increase in H2O2 accumulation, an increase in the number of isoenzymes of superoxide dismutase and catalase were observed with high activities under differential heat shock. A decrease in the proline accumulation was observed under differential heat shock. Exogenous application of H2O2 (10 mmole/L) leads to increase in the accumulation of intracellular H2O2 and further an increase in the number of isoenzymes of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) was observed. The tolerant cultivar was more responsive to exogenous application of H2O2 compared to susceptible cultivar. The percentage decrease in cell membrane stability under differential heat shock was low in H2O2 treated plants compared to non-treated. The results from this study suggest a potential role for H2O2 in regulating the activity of antioxidant enzymes and accumulation of proline inside cells and in turn influence the cell membrane stability under heat stress. All the defense associated genes were observed to be very responsive to intracellular H2O2, which gives inference that H2O2 has regulatory role to play in controlling the expression and activities of these proteins under abiotic stresses.Key words: Antioxidant enzymes, wheat, heat stress, H2O2, proline, catalase, superoxide dismutase, cell membrane stability, reactive oxygen species

Molecular cloning of HSP17 gene (sHSP) and their differential expression under exogenous putrescine and heat shock in wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Polyamines (PAs) are low molecular weight ubiquitous nitrogenous compounds found in all the living  organisms, which have been implicated in the expression of various stress-proteins against the abiotic  stresses. Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are of particular importance in the thermotolerance and have  been reported to act as molecular chaperones preventing denaturation or aggregation of the target proteins. Here, we report cloning of a small HSP of ~573 bp from C-306 cultivar of wheat (Triticum aestivum L), having open reading frame of 162 amino acids. In silico analysis showed the presence of an alpha crystalline domain (ACD), the signature domain for small HSPs. Consensus localization prediction (ConLoc) provides 98%  consensus prediction of HSP17 in the nucleus. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of HSP17 gene showed maximum (34 fold) transcript in C-306 and minimum (1.5 fold) in HD2329  cultivars of wheat in response to differential treatment of putrescine (1.5 to 2.5 mM + heat shock of 42°C for 2 h). Putrescine seems to enhance the transcript levels against the heat shock much more pronounced in  thermotolerant than in the susceptible cultivars.Key words: Triticum aestivum, heat stress, small heat shock protein, putrescine, HSP17, polyamine, domain, cloning

Time-of-arrival in quantum mechanics

We study the problem of computing the probability for the time-of-arrival of a quantum particle at a given spatial position. We consider a solution to this problem based on the spectral decomposition of the particle's (Heisenberg) state into the eigenstates of a suitable operator, which we denote as the ``time-of-arrival'' operator. We discuss the general properties of this operator. We construct the operator explicitly in the simple case of a free nonrelativistic particle, and compare the probabilities it yields with the ones estimated indirectly in terms of the flux of the Schr\"odinger current. We derive a well defined uncertainty relation between time-of-arrival and energy; this result shows that the well known arguments against the existence of such a relation can be circumvented. Finally, we define a ``time-representation'' of the quantum mechanics of a free particle, in which the time-of-arrival is diagonal. Our results suggest that, contrary to what is commonly assumed, quantum mechanics exhibits a hidden equivalence between independent (time) and dependent (position) variables, analogous to the one revealed by the parametrized formalism in classical mechanics.Comment: Latex/Revtex, 20 pages. 2 figs included using epsf. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Assessment of the sensitivity of model responses to urban emission changes in support of emission reduction strategies

© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/The sensitivity of air quality model responses to modifications in input data (e.g. emissions, meteorology and boundary conditions) or model configurations is recognized as an important issue for air quality modelling applications in support of air quality plans. In the framework of FAIRMODE (Forum of Air Quality Modelling in Europe, https://fairmode.jrc.ec.europa.eu/) a dedicated air quality modelling exercise has been designed to address this issue. The main goal was to evaluate the magnitude and variability of air quality model responses when studying emission scenarios/projections by assessing the changes of model output in response to emission changes. This work is based on several air quality models that are used to support model users and developers, and, consequently, policy makers. We present the FAIRMODE exercise and the participating models, and provide an analysis of the variability of O3 and PM concentrations due to emission reduction scenarios. The key novel feature, in comparison with other exercises, is that emission reduction strategies in the present work are applied and evaluated at urban scale over a large number of cities using new indicators such as the absolute potential, the relative potential and the absolute potency. The results show that there is a larger variability of concentration changes between models, when the emission reduction scenarios are applied, than for their respective baseline absolute concentrations. For ozone, the variability between models of absolute baseline concentrations is below 10%, while the variability of concentration changes (when emissions are similarly perturbed) exceeds, in some instances 100% or higher during episodes. Combined emission reductions are usually more efficient than the sum of single precursor emission reductions both for O3 and PM. In particular for ozone, model responses, in terms of linearity and additivity, show a clear impact of non-linear chemistry processes. This analysis gives an insight into the impact of model’ sensitivity to emission reductions that may be considered when designing air quality plans and paves the way of more in-depth analysis to disentangle the role of emissions from model formulation for present and future air quality assessments.Peer reviewe

Instant detection of synthetic cannabinoids on physical matrices, implemented on a low-cost, ultraportable device

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) make up a class of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), used predominantly in prisons and homeless communities in the U.K. SCs can have severe side effects, including psychosis, stroke, and seizures, with numerous reported deaths associated with their use. The chemical diversity of SCs presents the major challenge to their detection since approaches relying on specific molecular recognition become outdated almost immediately. Ideally one would have a generic approach to detecting SCs in portable settings. The problem of SC detection is more challenging still because the majority of SCs enter the prison estate adsorbed onto physical matrices such as paper, fabric, or herb materials. That is, regardless of the detection modality used, the necessary extraction step reduces the effectiveness and ability to rapidly screen materials on-site. Herein, we demonstrate a truly instant generic test for SCs, tested against real-world drug seizures. The test is based on two advances. First, we identify a spectrally silent region in the emission spectrum of most physical matrices. Second, the finding that background signals (including from autofluorescence) can be accurately predicted is based on tracking the fraction of absorbed light from the irradiation source. Finally, we demonstrate that the intrinsic fluorescence of a large range of physical substrates can be leveraged to track the presence of other drugs of interest, including the most recent iterations of benzodiazepines and opioids. We demonstrate the implementation of our presumptive test in a portable, pocket-sized device that will find immediate utility in prisons and law enforcement agencies around the world

Regulation of High-Temperature Stress Response by Small RNAs

Temperature extremes constitute one of the most common environmental stresses that adversely affect the growth and development of plants. Transcriptional regulation of temperature stress responses, particularly involving protein-coding gene networks, has been intensively studied in recent years. High-throughput sequencing technologies enabled the detection of a great number of small RNAs that have been found to change during and following temperature stress. The precise molecular action of some of these has been elucidated in detail. In the present chapter, we summarize the current understanding of small RNA-mediated modulation of high- temperature stress-regulatory pathways including basal stress responses, acclimation, and thermo-memory. We gather evidence that suggests that small RNA network changes, involving multiple upregulated and downregulated small RNAs, balance the trade-off between growth/development and stress responses, in order to ensure successful adaptation. We highlight specific characteristics of small RNA-based tem- perature stress regulation in crop plants. Finally, we explore the perspectives of the use of small RNAs in breeding to improve stress tolerance, which may be relevant for agriculture in the near future

Effect of Climate Variables on Yield of Major Crop in Samastipur District of Bihar: A Time Series Analysis

Climate change influences crop yield vis-a-vis crop production to a greater extent in Bihar. Climate change and its impacts are well recognizing today and it will affect both physical and biological system. Therefore, this study has been planned to assess the effect of climate variables on yield of major crops, adaptation measures undertaken in Samastipur district of Bihar. Secondary data on yield of maize and wheat crops were collected for the period from 1999-2019 to describe the effects of climate variable namely rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature on yield of maize and wheat. Analysis of time series data on climate variables indicated that annual rainfall was positively related to yields while maximum and minimum temperature had a negative but significant impact on maize and wheat yields. It actually revealed that other factors, such as; type of soil, soil fertility and method of farming may also be responsible for crop yield. Trend in cost as well as income of farmers indicated that income and cost of cultivation has no significant relationship with climate variable. On the basis of above observation it may be concluded that level of income of farmers changed due to change in the other factors rather than change in climatic variable over the period under study as cost of cultivation increases with increased in the price of input over the period but not due to change in climatic variabl