CRITICAL REVIEW ON AGASTHYAHAREETAKI AVALEHA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SWASAHARA KARMA

Respiratory disorders are one of the leading causes of morbidity worldwide. In Ayurvedic classics many poly herbal preparations are mentioned for curing respiratory disorders. Agasthyahareetaki avaleha is one such formulation mentioned in classical text books specially indicated for curing Swasa, Kasa, Vishamajvara etc. A detailed literature survey has been conducted to explore the probable mode of action of Agasthyahareetaki Avaleha in Swasa Roga. Most of the ingredients are having anti asthmatic, anti-inflammatory, immune modulator and antimicrobial activities may works on respiratory pathology. Apart from this Katu, Tikta Rasa, Ruksa, Lagu Guna and Kaphavata hara, Swasa- Kasa- Sopha Hara property of ingredients will hamper the pathology of Swasaroga

Analysis of Groyne Placement on Minimising River Bank Erosion

AbstractBank erosion is the wearing away of the banks of a stream or river. Impacts of river bank erosion are multifarious: social, economic, health, education and sometimes political. Groynes are structures constructed in rivers to protect the shore. Groynes are generally made of wood, concrete, or rock piles etc. In the present study coir geotextiles in the form of cocologs are used as the groynes to make the groyne more ecofriendly. Study mainly concentrates on analysing the effects of placing groynes at different angles from 450 to 1350 and to find the most effective arrangement for minimising the erosion. Results indicate that cocolog-groynes are effective in minimizing the erosion and protecting the bank. Maximum protection is observed for groyne angle of 1350

Probing galaxy evolution through HI 21-cm emission and absorption: current status and prospects with the Square Kilometre Array

One of the major science goals of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is to understand the role played by atomic hydrogen (HI) gas in the evolution of galaxies throughout cosmic time. The hyperfine transition line of the hydrogen atom at 21-cm is one of the best tools to detect and study the properties of HI gas associated with galaxies. In this article, we review our current understanding of HI gas and its relationship with galaxies through observations of the 21-cm line both in emission and absorption. In addition, we provide an overview of the HI science that will be possible with SKA and its pre-cursors and pathfinders, i.e. HI 21-cm emission and absorption studies of galaxies from nearby to high redshifts that will trace various processes governing galaxy evolution.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figures, accepted on 27 May 2022 for publication in the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy (to appear in the special issue on "Indian participation in the SKA"), figure 4 has been update

Fibrillar form of α-synuclein-specific scFv antibody inhibits α-synuclein seeds induced aggregation and toxicity

Synucleinopathies including Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA) are characterized by pathological accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn). Amongst the various approaches attempting to tackle the pathological features of synucleinopathies, antibody-based immunotherapy holds much promise. However, the large size of antibodies and corresponding difficulty in crossing the blood-brain barrier has limited development in this area. To overcome this issue, we engineered single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) against fibrillar α-syn, a putative disease-relevant form of α-syn. The purified scFvs showed specific activity towards α-syn fibrils and oligomers in comparison to monomers and recognized intracellular inclusions in human post-mortem brain tissue of Lewy body disease cases, but not aged controls. In vitro studies indicated scFvs inhibit the seeding of α-syn aggregation in a time-dependent manner, decreased α-syn seed-induced toxicity in a cell model of PD, and reduced the production of insoluble α-syn phosphorylated at Ser-129 (pS129-α-syn). These results suggest that our α-syn fibril-specific scFvs recognize α-syn pathology and can inhibit the aggregation of α-syn in vitro and prevent seeding-dependent toxicity. Therefore, the scFvs described here have considerable potential to be utilized towards immunotherapy in synucleinopathies and may also have applications in ante-mortem imaging modalities.Dr. El-Agnaf’s laboratory was funded by Qatar Biomedical Research Institute under the Start-up Fund SF 2017– 007. The Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource is funded in part by a grant from the UK Medical Research Council, by NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre awarded to the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University, and by a grant from the Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK as part of the Brains for Dementia Research Project

Novel engineered nanobodies specific for N-terminal region of alpha-synuclein recognize Lewy-body pathology and inhibit in-vitro seeded aggregation and toxicity.

Nanobodies (Nbs), the single-domain antigen-binding fragments of dromedary heavy-chain antibodies (HCAb), are excellent candidates as therapeutic and diagnostic tools in synucleinopathies because of their small size, solubility and stability. Here, we constructed an immune nanobody library specific to the monomeric form of alpha-synuclein (α-syn). Phage display screening of the library allowed the identification of a nanobody, Nbα-syn01, specific for α-syn. Unlike previously developed nanobodies, Nbα-syn01 recognized the N-terminal region which is critical for in vitro and in vivo aggregation and contains many point mutations involved in early PD cases. The affinity of the monovalent Nbα-syn01 and the engineered bivalent format BivNbα-syn01 measured by isothermal titration calorimetry revealed unexpected results where Nbα-syn01 and its bivalent format recognized preferentially α-syn fibrils compared to the monomeric form. Nbα-syn01 and BivNbα-syn01 were also able to inhibit α-syn-seeded aggregation in vitro and reduced α-syn-seeded aggregation and toxicity in cells showing their potential to reduce α-syn pathology. Moreover, both nanobody formats were able to recognize Lewy-body pathology in human post-mortem brain tissue from PD and DLB cases. Additionally, we present evidence through structural docking that Nbα-syn01 binds the N-terminal region of the α-syn aggregated form. Overall, these results highlight the potential of Nbα-syn01 and BivNbα-syn01 in developing into a diagnostic or a therapeutic tool for PD and related disorders

Ethanobotanical Diversity in Practices and Preparation of Punarnavadi Kwatha in Kerala Ayurveda

The Ayurvedic formulary has a long history of endogenous innovation. Its epistemic logic is best understood through the language of Oushadhayogam (polyherbal combination/ dosage forms). Punarnavadi kwatha (PUK) is an Ayurvedic polyherbal formulation, which is also known as Punarnavashtaka kwatha. It is generally used to treat diseases of respiratory system, bronchitis, liver diseases, hepatitis, joint inflammation, kidney stones, wounds, skin diseases, and gout.  The present study intended to explore the Ethanobotanical diversity of Punarnavashtaka kwatha in Kerala Ayurveda market.    Materials and Methods: Thorough search in classical Ayurvedic literature to collect data in PUK and cross-sectional survey to collect data of ingredients PUK used in Ayurveda industry. Results and Discussions: The ingredients of PUK along with botanical source of 5 Kerala Ayurveda manufactures were analysed and compared with AFI. The ingredients Punarnava, Nimba, Patola, Sunthi, Abhaya was common in all the manufactures.  But marked variation in other ingredients were found in market samples of PUK when compared to AFI, except first sample. Conclusions: There are some ethanobotanical diversity in ingredient list of Punarnavadi kwatha (PUK) in Kerala Ayurveda market. &nbsp

Appraisal on Special Ayurvedic Dietary Formulas for Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome and related complications are a major challenge for health providers of present era. Metabolic syndrome with key characters of abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia are the outcomes of faulty diet and habits. Since there are no such pharmacological agents which can reverse this condition more importance is being given to diet and lifestyle modifications. Traditional medicinal systems like Ayurveda gives equal importance for food and nutrition in both health and diseased conditions. Concept of Pathya -apathya for each and every disease is unique to Ayurveda where the macro and micronutrient principles were selected rationally for each disease conditions. These very principles can be adopted along with dietary supplements for curbing modern lifestyle disorders, more over there is mentioning of similar conditions in classics under a board term of Santharpanajanya Vikaras. Materials and methods- Thorough literary search done on various classical Ayurvedic texts for various diet and dietary preparations and online bases for their pharmacological properties from Ayurvedic and modern perspective and enlisted the dietary supplements. Results- Selected three major ingredients for the macro nutrient principles carbohydrate, protein and fat suggestive for MS from Sthoulya Prakarana and their properties are critically reviewed. Conclusion- There is enough scope of research in Ayurvedic dietary supplements for obesity and Metabolic Syndrome